The Partisan Impact on Local Government Dissemination of COVID-19 Information : Assessing U.S. County Government Websites

Summary, in English

This study explores the relationship between local government dissemination of COVID-19 information and partisanship. The unit of analysis is all official county government websites in the United States. In particular, we investigate if there is a correlation between the overall partisanship of a county and whether a county government's website 1) mentions COVID-19, and 2) provides safety instructions concerning COVID-19. We hypothesize that mass partisanship will impact the probability that a county government's website provides information related to the coronavirus. We find that a larger share of Democratic voters in a county is associated with an increase in the probability that a county government's website mentions COVID-19 and provides safety instructions for their residents. The results hold even after controlling for population density, internet subscriptions, and COVID-19 cases and deaths. The finding indicates that citizens' access to information, even on matters of public health, are partially a consequence of partisanship.

• Författare: Michael A. Hansen; Isabelle Johansson; Kalie Sadowski; Joseph Blaszcynski; Sarah Meyer
• Avdelning/ar: Socialantropologi
• Publiceringsår: 2021
• Språk: Engelska
• Sidor: 150-162
• Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: Canadian Journal of Political Science
• Volym: 54
• Issue: 1
• Länkar: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0008423920000918
• Dokumenttyp: Artikel i tidskrift
• Förlag: Cambridge University Press
• Ämne: Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy
• Nyckelord: County websites; Covid-19; Local governments; Partisanship
• Aktiv: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt: ISSN: 0008-4239