Federalism and pandemic policies: variety as the spice of life

Abstract

In the ordinary course of life, choices vary with age and other factors because one’s opportunities vary with one’s circumstances. Thus, investments in and expenditures on healthcare (and most other things) vary with age and a variety of other factors, including whether one lives in a rural area, suburb, or central city, health risks, risk aversion, and beliefs about the nature of a good life. Because assessment of the effects of illnesses vary with the same factors, the conclusions reached about best private and governmental health policies also tend to vary. This implies that conformity to “ideal” pandemic policies is more likely to be generated by a federal or polycentric system of policy making than a unitary system, especially ones that are constrained by a generality principle.