Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/323703 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Citation: 
[Journal:] Public Choice [ISSN:] 1573-7101 [Volume:] 203 [Issue:] 3 [Publisher:] Springer US [Place:] New York, NY [Year:] 2024 [Pages:] 503-522
Publisher: 
Springer US, New York, NY
Abstract: 
This paper examines the impact of a country leader’s education on policy responses and policy outcomes during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Relying on a quasi-experimental event-study approach, I find that political leaders with a graduate education responded more stringently to the first nationally registered infection than political leaders with lower educational attainment. Subsequently, political leaders with a graduate education reported fewer Covid-19 infections and Covid-19 related deaths at the onset of the pandemic. The results suggest that the education of political leaders can explain policy differences, particularly in countries with low electoral accountability. The low level of accountability allowed political leaders with a graduate education to implement stringent, evidence-based policies to contain the pandemic without fear of electoral punishment.
Subjects: 
Covid-19
political economy
political leadership
education
JEL: 
D78
H11
H12
I18
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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