Political Partisanship and Cooperation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Benin

The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for vulnerable populations depends on the effectiveness of public response, trust, and government communication. Social distancing, hand washing, and face covering can rarely be enforced through coercion, particularly in democratic societies where political leaders must persuade the public to voluntarily comply. In many countries including Benin, partisanship could greatly influence how people in Benin respond to the pandemic. The authors will conduct phone and online surveys of 2,000 Beninese adults to capture their political affiliations and measure the effect of this on their compliance with voluntary measures, as well as whether it influences the overall perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of this study are forthcoming.