The Impact of Policy Instruments on COVID-19 Public Health Resilience: The Moderating Effects of Government Transparency and Communication

This study empirically examines the effects of COVID-19 resilience policy instruments on public health recovery capacity and the moderating roles of government transparency and communication. Collaborative instruments—especially inter-ministerial cooperation—consistently demonstrated the strongest positive effects on both capacity types, while government-business cooperation also showed significant positive effects on health system response capacity. Fiscal instruments exhibited differential effects by policy target, with support for vulnerable employment groups showing positive effects exclusively on health service recovery capacity. Government transparency and communication demonstrated strong positive direct effects on both capacity types, with moderating effects emerging selectively: infrastructure expansion strengthened recovery capacity when combined with both moderators, whereas small business support interacted negatively with both moderators on service recovery capacity. These findings recommend prioritizing multi-level collaborative networks, selectively applying fiscal instruments with performance monitoring, and institutionalizing transparency and communication throughout the policy process.