'Sorry, we're closed': a fuzzy-set ideal-type analysis of pandemic childcare-policy responses in 28 European countries

Based on an original data set of early childhood education and care/school closures and reopenings, this article presents a fuzzy-set ideal-type analysis of pandemic childcare-policy responses in 28 European countries and explores the complex empirical variety of these policies across Europe. The analysis shows that European countries cluster into five models, comprising not only the opposite poles of strict closures (public-health approach) or absence of closures (high-risk approach) but also more 'mixed' approaches prioritising early childhood education and care/schools' educational (educational approach) or work-care functions (lenient work-care approach or strict work-care approach). A few countries' poor fit within these approaches indicates struggles in balancing different, often contradictory, policy goals during COVID-19. The findings reflect how (continued) provision of early childhood education and care/schools became a highly contested issue, especially as the pandemic evolved and public-health concerns were increasingly weighted against the implications for work-care balance and educational outcomes.

Solidarity During Crises. The Importance of Welfare State Solidarity in Times of Crisis

This paper examines the crisis-specific impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on welfare state solidarity during the first wave of infection and the first lockdown from March to May 2020. We combine a sociological understanding of solidarity in the context of the welfare state with sociological reflections on crisis-specific solidarity and a differentiation-theoretical perspective on institutional change. By means of a structuring content analysis of the Bundestagsplenarprotokolle, an intra-parliamentary solidarity pressure is traced that leads to crisis-specific Vergemeinschaftung. Through the qualitative analysis of the parliamentary debates, we also clarify the temporary limitation of this connection, which made the resumption of party-political solidarity conflicts possible in the first place after the successful reconstitution of a common normative basis of the members of parliament. On a further level, we elaborate the stabilizing function of welfare state solidarity as an normative guiding idea (Leitidee), which also exerts its effect in conflictual negotiations of social policy measures.

Government policy response to COVID-19 and bank performance: a comparison between Islamic and conventional banks

PurposeThis study aims to examine the joint impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government response on the performance of Islamic and conventional banks. Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a sample of 94 conventional and 14 Islamic banks in Indonesia from March 2020 to September 2021. The system generalized methods of moments estimation is used to analyze the data. FindingsThis study finds robust results regarding the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the positive effects of government responses to COVID-19 pandemic on bank performance in Indonesian banking. Moreover, in line with the rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases, a higher government policy responses index improves bank performance, both in conventional and Islamic banks. Practical implicationsThis paper highlights the importance of the government policy responses index to absorb the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on banking performance. Originality/valueThis paper provides novel insights into the joint impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and government responses to COVID-19 pandemic on bank performance between conventional and Islamic banks.

The impact of government policy responses on airline stock return during the COVID-19 crisis

This study investigates the impact of government policies on the weekly stock returns of 73 global airline companies in 36 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using panel data estimation techniques with country and week fixed effects, we find that the overall government policies and containment and health policies increase airline stock returns. Economic support policies do not significantly impact the returns. Containment and health policies mitigate the negative effect of the pandemic on airline stock returns, whereas economic support policies strengthen the adverse effect. The government interventions' impact on airline stock returns is heterogeneous based on the headquarters but not on the airline's ownership structures and business operations. Our empirical findings provide salient insights for protecting airline companies by reflecting on which government policy responses are effective and how governments should invest and prioritize policies. The results also present practical implications for airline managers, investors, and policymakers concerned with the current pandemic and future crises.

Investors' risk aversion and government policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

Do government policies during the COVID-19 pandemic affect investors' risk aversion, as proxied by the variance premium? To answer this question, this study examines data regarding government responses from thirteen countries. The empirical analysis indicates that government interventions were not able to substantially reduce variance risk premium in international equity markets. The results also show that economic support policies, containment, and closure regulations, and health system interventions all played a significant role in shaping equity variance risk price.

Differences in COVID-19 Policies and Income Distribution: A Cross-Country Comparison

This paper looks at the distribution of disposable income by deciles to indicate how specific mitigating measures have influenced income groups and considers the effectiveness of different combinations of containment measures in the European Union. Simulations using the EUROMOD tax-benefit microsimulation model imply that the mitigating effects of the simulated measures are regressive, with a bigger influence on the bottom part of the income distribution. It is also observed that old democracies benefit from these measures more than new democracies. Surprisingly, our results further reveal that for the two highest decile income groups, the COVID-19 containment measures are stronger in new democracies. Finally, a qualitative comparative analysis of 19 EU countries suggests that each country should apply mixes of containment measures that fit its own context. Although there is no one-size-fits-all policy, old democracies seem more successful at handling the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis than new democracies. This study complements the literature as it shows how COVID-19 measures have influenced household income groups, and second, it adds to earlier studies by clarifying that only specific context-dependent combinations of containment measures are successful at preventing the loss of people's living standards, thereby giving policymakers the necessary leeway to formulate effective policies.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Policy responses for SMEs in Australia

The present chapter provides a link between the COVID-19 pandemic and policy measures to support entrepreneurship. This chapter studies the role of Australian government entrepreneurial policy initiatives to support businesses especially SMEs, being the backbone of the Australian economy. The chapter showcases that there is a continuous need to study the response measures as all policy measures are time bound and so the policy requirements differ at each phase or stage. An overview study of the policy initiatives introduced by the Australian government is undertaken. Owing its effective, timely, and actionable policy responses the economic downturn has been less pronounced in Australia than in many other economies, and Australia is now moving into a "COVID normal" phase of recovery. This chapter will provide directions for future research on Australian government policy responses to support SMEs. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.

The impact of containment measures and monetary and fiscal responses on US financial markets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper analyses the effects of containment measures and monetary and fiscal responses on US financial markets during the Covid-19 pandemic. More specifically, it applies fractional integration methods to analyse their impact on the daily S&P500, the US Treasury Bond Index (USTB), the S&P Green Bond Index (GREEN) and the Dow Jones (DJ) Islamic World Market Index (ISLAM) over the period 1/01/2020-10/03/2021. The results suggest that all four indices are highly persistent and exhibit orders of integration close to 1. A small degree of mean reversion is observed only for the S&P500 under the assumption of white noise errors and USTB with autocorrelated errors; therefore, market efficiency appears to hold in most cases. The mortality rate, surprisingly, seems to have affected stock and bond prices positively with autocorrelated errors. As for the policy responses, both the containment and fiscal measures had a rather limited impact, whilst there were significant announcement effects which lifted markets, especially in the case of monetary announcements. There is also evidence of a significant, positive response to changes in the effective Federal funds rate, which suggests that the financial industry, mainly benefiting from interest rises, plays a dominant role.

Sources, diffusion and prediction in COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned to face next health emergency.

Scholars and experts argue that future pandemics and/or epidemics are inevitable events, and the problem is not whether they will occur, but when a new health emergency will emerge. In this uncertain scenario, one of the most important questions is an accurate prevention, preparedness and prediction for the next pandemic. The main goal of this study is twofold: first, the clarification of sources and factors that may trigger pandemic threats; second, the examination of prediction models of on-going pandemics, showing pros and cons. Results, based on in-depth systematic review, show the vital role of environmental factors in the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and many limitations of the epidemiologic models of prediction because of the complex interactions between the new viral agent SARS-CoV-2, environment and society that have generated variants and sub-variants with rapid transmission. The insights here are, whenever possible, to clarify these aspects associated with public health in order to provide lessons learned of health policy that may reduce risks of emergence and diffusion of new pandemics having negative societal impact.

Public policy responses to COVID-19 and the survival of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs): does entrepreneurial orientation (EO) matter?

PurposeThe global economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused the closure of countless ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) worldwide, partly due to the public policy responses. This paper investigates whether EMBs' entrepreneurial orientation (EO) mediates the impact of public policy responses to COVID-19 on their survival.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing institutional theory, the authors developed a novel conceptual framework that divides policy responses to COVID-19 into aggressive (imposing restrictions on movement, e.g. lockdowns) and less aggressive policy responses (not imposing restrictions on movement, e.g. social distancing). The authors then surveyed intra-regional EMBs, specifically businesses owned by ethnic minorities in the Kano and Katsina provinces of Nigeria, and analysed the data using structural equation modelling and analysis of variance (ANOVA).FindingsThe authors found that intra-regional EMBs in developing countries are very vulnerable to the public policy responses imposed by governments to curb COVID-19. Aggressive policy responses have a more significant negative effect on the survival of intra-regional EMBs than their less aggressive counterparts. Furthermore, the authors found that EO as a crisis response strategy significantly supports intra-regional EMBs in managing their vulnerability to the hostile institutional environment, reduces the adverse effect of public policy responses and stimulates their survival during the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the institutional theory of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)/entrepreneurship and the literature on EMBs by showing the role of EO in mediating the effects of COVID-19 institutional policies on the survival of intra-regional EMBs.

Government Interventions and Sovereign Bond Market Volatility during COVID-19: A Quantile Analysis

We test the interaction between governments' COVID-19 interventions, COVID-19-induced uncertainty, and the volatility of sovereign bonds. Different from previous literature, we investigate the asymmetric response of bond market volatility to both governmental interventions and COVID-19-induced uncertainty. With a focus on the first waves of the pandemic and using a panel quantile approach and a comprehensive dataset of 31 countries worldwide, we document that containment and closure policies tend to amplify volatility. Furthermore, the price variability is augmented by the spread of the pandemic itself. On the contrary, economic support policies have a substantial stabilizing effect on bond price fluctuations. Both phenomena are not subsumed by additional control variables and are robust to multiple considerations. Our findings may serve financial market participants in their risk management decisions, as well as policymakers to better shape their preparedness for future pandemics. © 2023 by the authors.

Impact of government policy responses of COVID-19 pandemic on stock market liquidity for Australian companies.

This study investigates the impact of government policy responses of COVID-19 pandemic on stock market liquidity for listed Australian companies and for 11 different industries separately. A quantitative deductive approach is used for a sample of 1,452 companies with a total of 292,164 firm-day observations over a period from January 25, 2020 to December 31, 2020 during the outbreak of COVID-19. Univariate and multivariate (two-way cluster-robust panel regression) analysis were conducted. Data were collected from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, Worldmeter, Refinitiv Workspace and Datastream. Our findings indicate that the influences of the six out of seven stringency policy responses reduced Australian equity market liquidity. However, public information campaigns enhanced market liquidity and hence trading activity. Among the 11 industries, our analysis shows that the non-pharmaceutical interventions by the Australian government have significant and positive effects on four industries: Consumer non-cyclicals, healthcare, financial and technology. However, the worse effects were depicted in the industrial (transportation) and energy industries. This study is important for investors, policymakers and regulators to understand the diverse effects of government policy responses of COVID-19 on stock market liquidity to enhance financial stability. Moreover, understanding this effect is particularly important to decision-makers such as portfolio and fund managers to manage their portfolios and trading activities during extreme turbulence times, such as COVID-19. Unlike previous studies that focus on country analysis, this study examines on firm basis the impact of government interventions on stock market liquidity in a well developed Australian stock market.

Social Policy Responses to Covid-19 in the Global South: Evidence from 36 Countries

The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted manifold social policy responses all around the world. This article presents the findings of a meta-analysis of thirty-six in-depth country reports on early Covid-19 social policy responses in the Global South. The analysis shows that social policy responses during the early phase of the pandemic have been predominantly focused on expanding temporary and targeted benefits. In terms of policy areas, next to labour market and social assistance measures, the focus has also been on unconventional social policy instruments. The social policy responses of developing economies were often rudimentary, focusing on cash transfers and food relief, and heavily relied on external funding. In contrast, many emerging economies introduced a much broader array of social policies and were less reliant on external support. ©

Geographic variations in opioid overdose patterns in Pennsylvania during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The convergence of the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic has created new health challenges throughout the United States. Since the onset of the pandemic, media attention and scholarly research have drawn attention to the intersections of addiction and COVID-19. However, there remain few empirical studies that examine the direct impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for opioid overdose patterns. Even fewer have integrated quantitative and qualitative methods to detail the place-specific dynamics shaping opioid overdose and addiction treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article measures and maps change in the age-adjusted rate of opioid-related overdose incidents at the county level from 2018 to 2020. These analyses are combined with interviews conducted since December 2020 with public health providers in the state of Pennsylvania to identify the key factors influencing opioid misuse and transformations in addiction treatment practices.

Energy access during and post-COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan countries: the case of Ethiopia.

The global COVID-19 pandemic causes hundreds of thousands of deaths and has created a catastrophic economic and health crisis around the World. Transportation, manufacturing industries, business and people's movement came to almost a halt and sharp oil and gas prices reduction were observed. The impact of the pandemic for sub-Saharan countries like Ethiopia, which was already struggling with many economic and social welfare problems, is more evident than in other wealthy nations around the World. In Ethiopia, the general energy access rate is 44% and in healthcare facilities is only about 10%. Therefore, the response for the COVID-19 pandemic is challenging, since activities such as information sharing, communication with health centers, diagnosis and medical treatment require electricity access. This paper aims to assess the impact of the pandemic on energy access plans during and post-pandemic. The paper analyzed, the status of the current COVID-19 outbreak in Ethiopia, the energy access situation in health facilities, and the impacts of COVID-19 on energy access during and post-pandemic periods. Data related to the universal energy access plan of Ethiopia, the impact of energy access on healthcare services and the impact of the pandemic were reviewed for the assessment. The analysis indicates that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopian healthcare facilities and on the overall universal energy access plan is immense and to minimize the global impact short and long-term policy responses are identified and urgently recommended. Furthermore, powering healthcare facilities with microgrids composed of solar panels and battery storage systems could be one cost-effective and sustainable solution for the speedy and effective response of the pandemic challenges.

From Public Health Policy to Impact for COVID-19: A Multi-Country Case Study in Switzerland, Spain, Iran and Pakistan.

Objectives: With the application of a systems thinking lens, we aimed to assess the national COVID-19 response across health systems components in Switzerland, Spain, Iran, and Pakistan. Methods: We conducted four case studies on the policy response of national health systems to the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Selected countries include different health system typologies. We collected data prospectively for the period of January-July 2020 on 17 measures of the COVID-19 response recommended by the WHO that encompassed all health systems domains (governance, financing, health workforce, information, medicine and technology and service delivery). We further monitored contextual factors influencing their adoption or deployment. Results: The policies enacted coincided with a decrease in the COVID-19 transmission. However, there was inadequate communication and a perception that the measures were adverse to the economy, weakening political support for their continuation and leading to a rapid resurgence in transmission. Conclusion: Social pressure, religious beliefs, governance structure and level of administrative decentralization or global economic sanctions played a major role in how countries' health systems could respond to the pandemic.

How culture orientation influences the COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical analysis.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the mediational path of the influence of cultural orientation on the COVID-19 pandemic outcome at the national level and find out whether some culture-related factors can have a moderating effect on the influence of culture. Methodology: Cultural dimension theory of Hofstede is used to quantify the degree of each dimension of culture orientation. The cross-section regression model is adopted to test if culture orientations affect the pandemic outcome, controlling for democracy, economy, education, population, age, and time. Then, a mediational analysis is conducted to examine if policy response is the mediator that culture makes an impact on the pandemic outcome. Finally, a moderation analysis is carried out to determine how each control variable has moderated the influence. Findings: The cross-section regression results showed that culture orientation influences the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic at the 99% confidence level and that among the six cultural dimensions, collectivism-individualism has the most significant impact. It has also been found that policy response is the mediator of cultural influence, and culture-related factors can moderate the influence. Contribution: The contribution of this research lies in developing the assertion that culture influences pandemic outcomes. Our findings indicate that collectivism-individualism culture orientation affects the effectiveness of epidemic controls the most among the six culture dimensions. Additionally, our research is the first to study the mediating effect of policy responses and the moderating effect of culture-related factors on the influence of cultural orientation on the pandemic outcome.

COVID-19's Impact on Community-based Long-Term Services and Supports

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on older adults and people with disabilities everywhere, but one area that has not been fully examined is how it affected home- and community-based services (HCBS) systems. This article fills some of that gap and identifies how policy responses to COVID-19 deprioritized HCBS systems. It discusses the implications of this for consumers, providers, and government programs. The authors make recommendations for action to prepare for and better support HCBS in the future. The article also discusses the urgent need to strengthen the HCBS workforce. COVID-19 exacerbated the long-existing worker shortage, which must be addressed to meet the large and growing demand for HCBS. © 2022 American Society on Aging. All rights reserved.

Public policy responses to COVID-19 and the survival of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs): does entrepreneurial orientation (EO) matter?

Purpose The global economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused the closure of countless ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) worldwide, partly due to the public policy responses. This paper investigates whether EMBs' entrepreneurial orientation (EO) mediates the impact of public policy responses to COVID-19 on their survival. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing institutional theory, the authors developed a novel conceptual framework that divides policy responses to COVID-19 into aggressive (imposing restrictions on movement, e.g. lockdowns) and less aggressive policy responses (not imposing restrictions on movement, e.g. social distancing). The authors then surveyed intra-regional EMBs, specifically businesses owned by ethnic minorities in the Kano and Katsina provinces of Nigeria, and analysed the data using structural equation modelling and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings The authors found that intra-regional EMBs in developing countries are very vulnerable to the public policy responses imposed by governments to curb COVID-19. Aggressive policy responses have a more significant negative effect on the survival of intra-regional EMBs than their less aggressive counterparts. Furthermore, the authors found that EO as a crisis response strategy significantly supports intra-regional EMBs in managing their vulnerability to the hostile institutional environment, reduces the adverse effect of public policy responses and stimulates their survival during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value This paper contributes to the institutional theory of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)/entrepreneurship and the literature on EMBs by showing the role of EO in mediating the effects of COVID-19 institutional policies on the survival of intra-regional EMBs.

Tourism policy responses to COVID-19 and first-stage tourism recovery in China

In order to find a coordinated approach to support tourism recovery following the impacts of COVID-19, this research examines the experiences of mainland China, the first country whose domestic tourism recovered in the first stage (the first year after the pandemic outbreak). Through the content analysis of tourism policy documents at national, provincial, and city levels, we generated the features of the policy responses from the supply and demand sides, and the policy trends before and after the first peak of the recovery. Next, we summarized the three steps which make up the first stage, and describe the effective policy focus for each step. This process-oriented policy analysis can guide other countries in how to cope with tourism recovery during the first stage.