Covid-19 Pandemic - Public Leadership and Management in Times of Crisis

Covid-19 has emerged as a bifurcate public health, political and economic crisis of global extent. In order to respond to the continuously changing circumstances of the crisis, a variety of policies have been implemented by governments and policymakers across the world. This study is aimed at exploring how institutional and politico-administrative contexts in an Europe-wide comparison influence policy responses to address the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study assesses how fundamental socioeconomic indicators developed under these extraordinary conditions. The results of the conducted comparative case study based on secondary data, reveal that different politico-administrative circumstances and institutional contexts account for different policy responses to the same threat, but also discover noteworthy similarities in addressing the pandemic. Additionally, the study illustrates that the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated political reactions caused serious socioeconomic implications. Overall, this thesis aims to create a better understanding of how institutional, political and administrative contexts influence and shape responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the ultimate goal of enhancing learning potential for any new developments during the Covid-19 crisis as well as for future application purposes.
Masterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 2022