Conflicts of interest and COVID

Abstract

Many of our leaders, from politicians to university administrators to business owners, face difficult trade-offs during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created increasingly tense conflicts of interest. Across the globe, decision-makers grapple with dilemmas that weigh economic outcomes with responsibilities for public safety and health. Conflicts of interest impact decisions to close borders, implement quarantines, impose lockdowns, stagger reopenings, enforce social distancing and mandate mask-wearing. What's striking is that many of these decision-makers believe, and sometimes explicitly state, that they are not at all influenced by financial incentives. The problem with these statements is that, if our leaders and decision-makers were influenced by their conflicts of interest, they would not necessarily be aware of it. Decision-makers may think they are not biased by their conflict of interest, but that assumption is based on an inaccurate mental model of how such conflicts work. Research has repeatedly shown that conflicts of interest operate without our awareness and sometimes against our best intentions. Without external accountability, decision-makers will continue to fall prey to their biasing influence