Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/223589 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 8517
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
This paper investigates whether the Covid-19 crisis has affected the way we think about (political) institutions, as well as our broader (policy) attitudes and values. We fielded large online survey experiments in Italy, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, well into the first wave of the epidemic (May-June), and included outcome questions on trust, voting intentions, policies & taxation, and identity & values. With a randomised survey ow we vary whether respondents are given Covid-19 priming questions first, before answering the outcome questions. With this treatment design we can also disentangle the health and economic effects of the crisis, as well as a potential “rally around the ag” component. We find that the crisis has brought about severe drops in interpersonal and institutional trust, as well as lower support for the EU and social welfare spending financed by taxes. This is largely due to economic insecurity, but also because of health concerns. A rallying effect around (scientific) expertise combined with populist policies losing ground forms the other side of this coin, and suggests a rising demand for competent leadership.
Subjects: 
Covid-19
social trust
institutional trust
survey experiment
European Union
welfare
health
taxation
accountability
populism
values
JEL: 
D72
H51
H53
H55
O52
P52
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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