1. Information Manipulation and Repression: A Theory and Evidence from the COVID-19 Response in Russia
- Author:
- Natalia Lamberova and Konstantin Sonin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has called for provision of public goods and services that require a high state capacity, including producing and distributing vaccines, enforcing mask mandates, limiting potential super‐spreader events, and so on. The rationale for public intervention was that private actions, such as getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and avoiding large gatherings, have benefits to broader society, so they are likely to be undersupplied by individuals on their own. In these circumstances, one might expect the power of the state coercing others into compliance to be beneficial. Are authoritarian leaders, less constrained by institutions and less accountable to voters, better equipped to deal with health emergencies?
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Repression, Public Health, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Eurasia