Individualism and support for COVID-19 government interventions: The moderating role of perceived economic risk

Individualistic orientations in cultural worldviews significantly influence public attitudes toward government policies. We examine the impact and mechanisms of individualism on support for government interventions, focusing on the economic effects of COVID-19 containment measures. Utilizing data from the 10th and the latest 11th rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS), we find that individualism exerts a significant negative effect on public support for COVID-19 government interventions. Specifically, for each additional point increase in individualism corresponds to a 1.6 % decrease in the probability of viewing border closures as extremely important and a 1.4 % decrease for domestic movement restrictions. Our mechanism analysis reveals that individualism negatively affects intervention support by diminishing trust in government. Furthermore, higher perceived economic risk amplifies the negative impact of individualism on intervention support. Heterogeneity tests demonstrate that the negative influence of individualism is more pronounced among older individuals, those with lower income and education levels, employees in government and public sectors, and in non-post-socialist countries. We suggest that strategies to promote public policy support should be tailored to cultural and social contexts.