The pandemic and the state: Interrogating capacity and response to COVID-19 in West Bengal

Zaad Mahmood and Achin Chakraborty

No wp-2022-89, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: COVID-19 has brought to the fore the issue of state preparedness in mitigating health emergencies. This paper problematizes the received wisdom of greater state capacity in mitigating the severity of the pandemic. Based on a case study of West Bengal, a subnational state of India, it shows that measures of state capacity do not map onto the pandemic response and outcomes very clearly. The three components of state capacity, namely authority, capacity, and legitimacy, show significant variation during the pandemic response.

Keywords: COVID-19; West Bengal; State capacity; COVID-19 policy response; Lockdown; Pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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