Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
Summer 6-3-2025
Keywords
COVID-19, institutional resilience, healthcare resilience, under 5 mortality, public health financing, responsibility, critical juncture
Abstract
This paper offers a comparative analysis of eight national healthcare systems—spanning democracies, autocracies, and various institutional models—to evaluate resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on Shvetsova et al.’s framework of informational and authority redundancies, and Parker & Klein’s “choke point” theory of healthcare rationing, we examine how institutional structure shaped pandemic response, system adaptability, and continuity of non-COVID services. Using indicators like life expectancy, under-five mortality, hospital capacity, cancer survival, and excess mortality, we explore how systems absorbed shock and maintained essential care. We find that decentralized and polycentric governance structures, when paired with coordination and resource adequacy, enhanced resilience—exemplified by countries like Switzerland and Spain. By contrast, fragmented or overly centralized responses, especially without redundancy or trust, often faltered. The paper contributes to health politics and public policy by identifying institutional features that enabled flexibility, responsiveness, and protection of broader healthcare services during crisis. These insights inform future preparedness planning.
Recommended Citation
Kronisch, Avner; Bongiorno, Christian; Smith, Kerane; and Baker, John, "FUNCTIONAL RESILIENCE OF HEALTHCARE IN THE CRITICAL JUNCTURE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC" (2025). Working Papers Series. 20.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/working_paper_series/20
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, COVID-19 Commons, Health Policy Commons, Infrastructure Commons
