Multi-Level Systems in Times of Crisis

"The Covid-19 crisis offers a unique opportunity to explore the virtues and vices associated with policymaking in multilevel government systems. Multilevel Systems in Times of Crisis: Socio-Economic Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic offers an exceptional systematic and thorough comparative account of the accountability, efficacy and effectiveness of business, employment and household income support measures adopted by the six largest European countries that vary widely regarding their vertical distribution of powers and their intergovernmental relations. This book is a must-read for scholars interested in the question of whether federalism, multilevel governance, decentralisation, and intergovernmental relations significantly matter for policy impacts."

Arjan H. Schakel, Professor in Comparative Territorial Democracy, University of Bergen, Norway

COVID-19 was not only a public health crisis but an economic and social crisis as well. Whilst health measures during the pandemic have been extensively analysed, however, economic and social responses have received far less scholarly attention. This book seeks to address this oversight by examining the implementation and performance of socio-economic measures adopted in six European multilevel systems.

In order to support businesses, self-employed workers, families, and individuals, governments at different levels implemented a wide range of measures, which collectively formed an important part of crisis management during the pandemic. Drawing on evidence from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, this book provides in-depth case studies on the design of these policies, as well as the effectiveness of implementation and results across central and regional governments. In doing so, it offers readers a better understanding of multilevel responses, challenges and good practices during times of crisis. The findings have important repercussions for future crisis management.

Marius Guderjan is a lecturer and researcher at the Centre for British Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.

Mario Kölling  is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Spanish National Distance Education University, and a Senior Researcher at the Fundación Manuel Giménez Abad, Spain.

Johanna Schnabel is a Lecturer and Researcher at the Chair of German Politics, Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.