State and Local Government: COVID-19 Crisis Management Explained by Experts
With the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact still being felt in every area of American life, rigorous reporting on the crisis remains vital. To meet this need, Scholars Strategy Network has compiled a list of scholars who are available to be contacted for comments and analysis. Below are the scholars who can comment on how state and local governments are managing the crisis.
You can connect with all researchers available to comment on the COVID-19 pandemic here.
“Local, state and regional governmental authorities in the United States have been chronically underfunded in recent decades, particularly in the area of public health. Additionally, the lack of formal collaborative decision-making institutions make it increasingly difficult to coordinate across jurisdictional boundaries. In the absence of these formal institutions of intergovernmental coordination, deployment of critical equipment is very difficult. Overcoming these collaborative decision-making challenges will be markers of success during this emerging disaster.”
"We can't expect people to comply with authorities that they dont trust — we need citizen buy-in. For example, take the new contact tracking technologies. Nudging people to download something is easy. But people need to believe in it and use it truthfully and faithfully if tracking and tracing technologies are to make a difference. Given the polarization and politicization of public health issues and policies in the US and around the world, this won’t be easy."
"Because of COVID-19, state and local governments face a once-in-a-generation revenue crisis that will jeopardize both public employment and vital services for millions of Americans. By failing to act to support intergovernmental revenue, Congress is setting up perverse incentives for states and cities to further reopen their economies. This failure to act will contribute to the spread of the virus, which will in turn – paradoxically – weaken regional economies in the long run. State and local governments should be seen as partners in governing the pandemic, not just another lobbying sector."