Case Study: COVID-19

Question 1

What theoretical policy interference was COVID-19, and what theory does it apply to?

Answer 1

Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) - sudden, volatile change.
This has been applied in “institutionalism”.

Question 2

What sort of policy challenges did COVID-19 impose?

Answer 2

High uncertainty.
Conflict: public health vs economy.
Resource shortages (e.g., PPE, ICU).
Negative Lockdown Effects.
Ensuring Compliance.
Essential Service Continuity.

Question 3

What problems did Italy face when implementing policy during COVID-19?

Answer 3

Institutional complexity (weak central govt vs. strong regions).
Unpreparedness, slow initial response.
Political and expert fragmentation – 15 task forces (450 people).

Question 4

What measures did Italy take during COVID-19?

Answer 4

Red zones, travel bans, social distancing, school closures.
Phased lockdowns → full lockdown.
Regional implementation of testing/tracing.

Question 5

What policy lesson can be learnt from Italy’s COVID response?

Answer 5

Policy style and institutional norms dominate response – “a country can only be what it is” (Capano, 2020).

Question 6

What issues did the UK Government have when implementing COVID-19 policy?

Answer 6

Assumed preparedness (for flu), but was unprepared.
Complacency, delayed lockdown, poor leadership.
Populism undermined expert advice.
The Behavioral Insights Team advised on public communication.
Abandoned test/trace early.
Furlough scheme; huge spending (£261bn), fraud/losses.
Poor care home response.
Proliferation of expert bodies (SAGE, SPI-M, etc.), but advice is inconsistently followed.
Devolved govts pursued differing strategies

Question 7

What factors explain different outcomes between nations during COVID-19?

Answer 7

Psychological (trust, risk perception).
Institutional (state capacity, federalism).
Strategic (speed, ideology).
Higher federalism = slower response.

Question 8

What problem did COVID-19 tell us about the traditional policy processes?

Answer 8

Policy formation is too slow.

Question 9

What elements from policy-making did COVID-19 require?

Answer 9

Faster decision-making.
Constant iteration due to evolving challenges (e.g., new variants).
Flexibility under uncertainty.