The capacity of governments to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic presents a massive challenge for social scientists. Citizens look to the government to lead the response to the crisis, and to lead the recovery (Mazzucato & Kattel, 2020; Lenz, 2013). On the other hand, the pandemic also exposes the vulnerabilities of the government, be it their capacity, competence, trustworthiness or means to adequately address the COVID pandemic (Karo, E., and Kattel, R., 2018; Bouckaert, et.al). Using data from Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) and relying on the stringency of the conducted policies, the paper answers central questions about the ways in which government’s policies affect citizens’ engagement in COVID prevention behaviour: the greater the strength of Governments' recommendations at an early stage, the more effective these are in slowing down or reversing the growth of cases of infection. These results reframe the virtuous circle of governance in combating COVID 19 and contribute to a better understanding of the causal relation of government policies and citizen’s behaviour.

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Governance,COVID-19,Citizens,Trust

• Sociology - Social Sciences
• Political Science - Social Sciences