Neoliberalism and governmental and individual responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-national analysis

Given the deficiencies of traditional government capacity indicators and cultural factors (e.g., individualism) in explaining the discrepancies of different agents' responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the present study proposed and examined the role of neoliberalism, a novel cultural tradition of knowledge emphasizing the principles of free markets and self-governance, as an additional explanation of the discrepancies in the governmental and individual responses to the pandemic. Analyzing policy responses of 106 nations and personal responses from 105,203 individuals in 104 nations during the first wave of the pandemic, we found that nation-level neoliberalism (delineated by the economic freedom index) negatively predicted the nonlinear trajectories of government policy responses to contain the pandemic. Specifically, in more neoliberal countries, stringent containment policy responses showed a sharper decline in the later stage of the first wave of the pandemic. Moreover, nation-level neoliberalism negatively predicted individuals' pandemic-protective attitudes and behaviors. All these effects are independent of and incremental to those of nation-level individualism. In conclusion, this study sheds light on how neoliberalism could lead to negative consequences during large-scale, long-lasting public threats, offering practical guidance for adjusting public crisis management in the future.