The Influence of Political Regime, State Capacity and Institutional Estructure in the Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ana Tereza Duarte Lima de Barros

What factors explain an efficient response to the pandemic? The objective is to analyze the effects of the type of political regime, the state capacity and the institutional structure (majoritarian or consensual) in the management of the pandemic. Considering that decision-making in authoritarian regimes is concentrated in a smaller number of individuals, measures such as social distancing, in the context of the pandemic, may have been taken earlier, avoiding greater number of deaths. Likewise, authoritarian regimes do not debate whether or not these measures violate individual rights, which allows these regimes to impose more restrictive measures.