2025/01/01 by Irene Rodríguez, Toni Rodón, Aslı Unan +3 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Health Professions · Medicine · Social Sciences · #2019-20 coronavirus outbreak #Benchmarking #Business #Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) #Employment and Welfare Studies #Internal medicine #Medicine #Outbreak #Pandemic #Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Virology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0007123424000802
published in British Journal of Political Science 55 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/03/15 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract Does the EU’s performance compared to neighboring countries influence public support? Using a benchmarking approach, we argue that people compare their country’s performance within the EU to that of a non-EU country, shaping their attitudes. The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in 2020 provides an ideal test case, as governments launched vaccination programs at different speeds. The UK began weeks before EU countries, allowing us to examine its impact on EU support. Using an Unexpected Event during Surveys Design (UESD) with Eurobarometer data, we find that the UK’s early rollout significantly reduced specific policy support for the EU but did not consistently affect diffuse support. Our findings offer key insights into attitudes toward European integration and performance evaluations.