| Sumario: | The result is that public officials, incentivized by people's beliefs regarding the appropriate and acceptable role of the state and its experts, are more willing to enact interventionist policies to address crises, which sets the stage for both short-term and long-term increases in the overall size of government. THE INDFPENDENT REVIEW INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND GOVERNMENT GROWTH + 547 Expansions in government power are reversible but are often sticky due to corresponding changes in people's ideology regarding the appropriate role of the state in relation tx, the citizenry and to political economy factors such as vested interests and legal precedents regarding acceptable behaviors by the state (Higgs 1987). Experts in economics, political science, and international relations are currently voicing concerns about how policy measures enacted during the COVID pandemic may lead to bigger governments and more surveillance (see, e.g., Walt et al. 2020). + NATHAN P. GOODMAN, CHRISTOPHER J. COYNE, AND ABIGAIL DEVEREAUX ~ n response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, governments around the world adopted a variety of policies, including but not limited to stateimposed stay-at-home orders, the shuttering of nonessential businesses (as determined by government officials), and lockdowns of varying degrees.
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