Why Swedes won't wear face masks during a pandemic - the result of blind trust in the government

DOI: 10.30658 / jicrcr.4.2.6

Commentary

The role of government can be useful in crisis situations, such as during a COVID-19 pandemic, but the reason given is that it relies on its citizens to follow its directives.

Corroborating evidence has accumulated around the world and one of the key directives is to wear a face mask, but in Sweden the government has questioned their usefulness. They are using conventional methods for other behavioral recommendations, such as hand washing, but I will rely on this deprecation of face masks to examine the causal effect of government trust on behavior.

The study, based on a large Swedish survey conducted during the pandemic, showed that as trust in the government increased, people were less likely to wear face masks. The study also reported that the higher the level of trust in Sweden, the higher the likelihood of hand washing.

The findings qualify the conclusions about the beneficial consequences of trust.