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Trust in government in Sweden and Denmark during the COVID-19 epidemic

Nielsen, Julie Hassing LU and Lindvall, Johannes LU orcid (2021) In West European Politics 44(44322). p.1180-1204
Abstract

Did the different public-health policies that Sweden and Denmark pursued in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic result in different levels of public trust in governments’ and health authorities’ ability to guide the two countries safely through the pandemic? How did the level of trust change as the pandemic unfolded? And were there any cross-country differences in the correlates of trust? Using three original representative surveys conducted in Sweden and Denmark between late March and late June, 2020, this article answers these questions. It finds that Danes consistently trusted their government and health authorities more than the Swedes did. While Swedish trust was politicized and shaped by ideology from the onset of the pandemic,... (More)

Did the different public-health policies that Sweden and Denmark pursued in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic result in different levels of public trust in governments’ and health authorities’ ability to guide the two countries safely through the pandemic? How did the level of trust change as the pandemic unfolded? And were there any cross-country differences in the correlates of trust? Using three original representative surveys conducted in Sweden and Denmark between late March and late June, 2020, this article answers these questions. It finds that Danes consistently trusted their government and health authorities more than the Swedes did. While Swedish trust was politicized and shaped by ideology from the onset of the pandemic, this only later became the case in Denmark. The findings provide insights into popular evaluations of different public-health policies in two otherwise similar countries, with implications for future policy making. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1909964.

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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
COVID-19, Denmark, ideology, political trust, Rally-around-the-flag effect, Sweden
in
West European Politics
volume
44
issue
44322
pages
1180 - 1204
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:85106005593
ISSN
0140-2382
DOI
10.1080/01402382.2021.1909964
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d3a8a905-113c-4635-a4e6-ff09dcf2d189
date added to LUP
2021-06-02 11:34:32
date last changed
2025-03-09 13:41:04
@article{d3a8a905-113c-4635-a4e6-ff09dcf2d189,
  abstract     = {{<p>Did the different public-health policies that Sweden and Denmark pursued in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic result in different levels of public trust in governments’ and health authorities’ ability to guide the two countries safely through the pandemic? How did the level of trust change as the pandemic unfolded? And were there any cross-country differences in the correlates of trust? Using three original representative surveys conducted in Sweden and Denmark between late March and late June, 2020, this article answers these questions. It finds that Danes consistently trusted their government and health authorities more than the Swedes did. While Swedish trust was politicized and shaped by ideology from the onset of the pandemic, this only later became the case in Denmark. The findings provide insights into popular evaluations of different public-health policies in two otherwise similar countries, with implications for future policy making. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1909964.</p>}},
  author       = {{Nielsen, Julie Hassing and Lindvall, Johannes}},
  issn         = {{0140-2382}},
  keywords     = {{COVID-19; Denmark; ideology; political trust; Rally-around-the-flag effect; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{44322}},
  pages        = {{1180--1204}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{West European Politics}},
  title        = {{Trust in government in Sweden and Denmark during the COVID-19 epidemic}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1909964}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/01402382.2021.1909964}},
  volume       = {{44}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}