Government Response Measures and Public Trust during the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Evidence from Around the World
利用178个国家在2020年3月20日至4月8日间的全球调查数据，研究发现综合政府应对措施（包括卫生管控和经济救助）能显著提升公众对政府的信任和对其诚实性的信念，且影响因法律体系、治理方式和机构文化而异。
Abstract This study examines public trust in government and public belief in its truthfulness in respect of the measures it is taking to combat COVID‐19. Analysing global data from the International Coronavirus Survey of 178 countries between 20 March and 8 April 2020, we establish that integrated government response policies, underpinned by containment health measures and economic reliefs, are crucial to winning public trust and support. We find that a one standard deviation increase in composite government response measures leads to a 0.353% increase in public trust in government and a 0.414% increase in public belief in its truthfulness. The impacts vary according to legal systems, whose political ethos determines the quality of welfare services and their ability to respond to citizens’ needs during a public health emergency. Further, public trust in government measures differs in relation to how a country's system of governance and institutional culture respond to meet public expectations, with citizens’ attitudes influenced by the fairness, effectiveness and accountability of government agencies. Most importantly, our evidence consistently demonstrates that the provision of impartial, transparent and truthful government communications is vital for maintaining public trust. Moreover, experience gained from previous pandemics, reinforcing a nation's preparedness and responsiveness to future public health crises, is crucial to ensuring citizens’ confidence in government competence. Overall, our original investigation reveals a contention between the exigencies of government policies and public expectations in a global health emergency, and has profound implications for public management and business and economic regeneration in the aftermath of the pandemic, laying the foundations for future research.