How Governance Researchers are Studying (and Adapting to) COVID-19

This is the 14th post in a series of “Coronavignette” video interviews with civil society and research organizations we support to better understand how they are adapting to the constraints of COVID-19, and what they see as its implications for their work going forward.

I spoke with Esther Owelle of The Busara Center for Behavioral Economics in Kenya and Lucía Tiscornia of the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) in Mexico. Esther and Lucía are among a group of recipients of research grants coordinated by the Evidence in Governance and Politics network (EGAP) to study the role of political conditions in enabling or preventing effective societal responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Esther Owelle describes her research with Janet Langat to better understand how different types of public health messaging via mobile phones affect the behaviors of residents of informal settlements. In short, are residents more likely to be swayed by audio messages of community leaders, or text messages from the government? She describes how this study informs her longer-term research agenda, and also offers some advice to funders like the Hewlett Foundation who support governance research.

Lucía Tiscornia describes her research with Sandra Ley and Tiago Augusto Da Silva Ventura to better understand why organized crime groups in Mexico have responded differently to COVID-19. For example, why did some groups adopt violent measures to enforce social distancing policies while others distributed basic goods to ameliorate the economic consequences of the health crisis? Like Esther, she also offers some advice to funders of governance research.