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Warner, M.E. and Zhang, X., 2020. "Social Safety Nets and COVID-19 Stay Home Orders across US States: A Comparative Policy Analysis," working paper

State responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have been highly politicized in the US.  We run survival analysis on when stay-at-home orders were enacted and lifted across the fifty US states.  Results show a strong linkage between social safety net protections (paid sick leave, expanded access to Medicaid Health Insurance, higher state minimum wage, higher welfare benefits) and the likelihood a state will shut down earlier and reopen later.  Republican controlled states impose stay home orders later and reopen sooner. This comparative empirical policy research shows protecting public health and providing social safety net protections go hand in hand.

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Subject: COVID-19