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Nudges against pandemics

Sweden’s Covid-19 containment strategy in perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID12651908
AuthorsJ Pierre (0000-0002-1523-3603, University of Gothenburg, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume39
Issue3
Pages478-493
Publication date2020-06-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1449-4035 • E-ISSN: 1839-3373
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1080/14494035.2020.1783787
PMID35039732
OpenAlexW3036899723
LanguageEN
Citations received85
References cited7

Sweden's strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic stands out internationally as more liberal in terms of not ordering a complete lockdown of society. Sweden kept its primary schools, daycare centers and industries largely open. The government financially supported furloughed workers and increased its support to regional and local governments delivering healthcare and elderly care. However, the death toll in Sweden which passed 4000 by late May 2020 stands in stark contrast to those of other, comparable countries, raising questions about the design of the strategy, and its appropriateness. The paper argues that key assumptions sustaining the strategy, for instance that symptom-free people do not carry, and cannot transmit the Coronavirus, or that local and regional government staff had the necessary training and equipment to tackle the pandemic, along with problems associated with coordinating a decentralized healthcare system, may explain the poor performance of the Swedish containment strategy

Business · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Death toll · Economic growth · Economics · Government (linguistics · Health care · Local government · Pandemic · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Socioeconomics · Toll · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Disaster Management and Resilience · Employment and Welfare Studies · Medicine · Public Administration

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Unique citing works85
Citations per year14,17
Citation span2020 - 2026 (7)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 84
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