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PAMELA MCCANN

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University of Southern California

The Political Economy of COVID-19 Policy Choices: Stay-at-Home Orders and Essential Workers in the U.S. States



Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/95817507711



Abstract

Intergovernmental policy formulation and implementation have been a key component of dealing with COVID-19, particularly in the United States. Statewide mandates regarding closures typically involve exceptions for workers deemed critical to public health and the safety of the community, including those individuals providing basic essential services such as healthcare, power, water, and sanitation services, a subgroup in the population disproportionately populated by employees without college degrees. In this study, we focus on state police powers in issuing shelter-in-place orders and economic shutdowns along with ambiguous U.S. federal guidance on the definition of essential workers. We argue that the political environment of states is associated with specific COVID-policy choices. And, that variation across shelter-in-place in the definition of essential employees by states can result in inequalities across subgroups in the population.

    


Bio

Pamela Clouser McCann, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. Dr. Clouser McCann previously served as an assistant professor of public affairs at the University of Washington, a program consultant for the Michigan Department of Health, and as a genetic counselor for the University of Michigan Health System.  She has a PhD in political science and public health from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include U.S. political institutions, delegation, and  intergovernmental politics. Her work spans qualitative and quantitative methodologies and often uses health policy as an animating example. She is the Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations field editor for the Journal of Public Policy.