Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered various changes in perceptions, expectations, and beliefs among citizens worldwide. Governments have taken common and controversial decisions in their attempts to combat this issue, winning or losing citizens’ confidence. In a time of significant changes, this trust is vital for the future success and sustainability of policymakers and systems in the long run. Given the context, quantitative research was conducted to discover citizens’ perceptions on policies’ effectiveness and how they evolved between May 2020 and December 2020. Significant results show citizens’ lack of confidence in the prospects of the overall economic climate, alongside the degradation of their perceived effectiveness of policymakers’ decisions. In the early stages of this health crisis, citizens expected policymakers to get involved and support industries that provided food (searching for basic survival). When people got accustomed to the entire situation, they refocused their thoughts and expectations on the sectors that would offer them long-term support: healthcare and education. These findings can provide insights into what is considered adequate for decision-making in times of crisis.