Will Punctuated Equilibrium Theory Help us Explain the Developments Surrounding COVID-19 and Environmental Policy?

Garfinkel, Adam

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Will Punctuated Equilibrium Theory Help us Explain the Developments Surrounding COVID-19 and Environmental Policy? Public Deposited

Analytics

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/np193b220

Abstract

This project is titled, “Will Punctuated Equilibrium Theory Help us Explain the Developments Surrounding COVID-19 and Environmental Policy?". As the title suggests, the research question will be regarding the effects of COVID-19 on the punctuated equilibrium theory, specifically relating to environmental policy in the United States of America. Punctuated equilibrium theory suggests that in both American and specific foreign governments, the policies that get created and passed tend to be rather steady and unchanging, until a major event occurs, which disrupts the normally homogenous system in a large way. An example where we have seen this theory hold true in the past was in the aftermath of 9/11, when the United States Government passed a series of new laws regarding air flight safety and other anti-terrorism acts, something that the country had not seen in policy until that point. This project will test this theory in the modern context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and seek to understand whether or not environmental policy has experienced a large shift after the major event that is the COVID-19 pandemic.

This project is important because of the new nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world knows so little about what has happened so far and what will happen in the future from a policy perspective in response to the pandemic, so trying to predict the future of environmental policy has become very difficult. If this project can conclude that Punctuated Equilibrium Theory is in fact relevant for the COVID-19 pandemic, then this information could prove useful in predicting the United States Governments’ future response to major events, as well as help describe the current status of environmental policy in the United States. This information could then also potentially be used to help adjust new and future environmental policy, so that it best serves the American people and their future interests.

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