Managing the politics of health data during Covid-19
A comparative institutional analysis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17600340 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cosmo Howard (0000-0003-2502-313X, Griffith University, corresponding author), Sara E Davies (0000-0002-7637-2252, Griffith University), Jessica Kirk (0000-0002-1006-6658, Monash University), Diego Leiva Van De Maele (0000-0003-1943-301X, Griffith University), Clare Wenham (0000-0001-5378-3203, London School of Economics and Political Science) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-31 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Science and Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0302-3427 • E-ISSN: 1471-5430 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/scipol/scaf100 |
| OpenAlex | W7126199246 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
This article investigates the political dynamics of health statistics during COVID-19, a period marked by intensified reliance on quantitative data. It examines how institutional configurations shaped the governance and politics of pandemic data. Using the concept of ‘statistical systems’, the article presents a comparative typology of formal structures and informal norms for official data production and dissemination, and tests how these influenced data politics during the crisis. Drawing on interviews with health officials and experts in Australia, Sweden, the UK, and the USA, the analysis reveals how technical and political challenges in data use were encountered and addressed. Despite facing similar pressures, countries diverged in managing data-related problems and pursuing structural reforms. The findings demonstrate that institutions critically condition data governance during crises. Efforts to redesign data systems should account for embedded institutional patterns that shape data governance and influence public trust across national contexts
Comparative politics · Comparative research · Corporate governance · Institutional analysis · Institutional theory · Politics · Typology · Census and Population Estimation · Data Analysis and Archiving · Data-Driven Disease Surveillance
The first eight months of Sweden’s Covid‐19 strategy and the key actions and actors that were involved
Bio-Politics and Calculative Technologies in Covid-19 Governance
Forecasting Covid-19 pandemic
The making of a Swedish strategy
Making Crime Count
The Honest Broker
Rhetorical uses of precise numbers and semi-magical round numbers in political discourse about Covid-19
Trump, Covid-19, and the War on Expertise
How Leaders of Arm’s Length Agencies Respond to External Threats
Independent official statistics
The promise and performance of data ecosystems
Bordering
Democracy and the Politics of Coronavirus
Preventing the political manipulation of Covid-19 statistics
| Highly cited | No |
|---|