There are several criticisms that need to be made of this study:
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The first statement in the World Economic Forum article is as
follows: "Female leaders including New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern
have provided strong leadership models during COVID-19." All
that means is that the two female economists, Supriya Garikipati
and Uma Kambhampati, like that particular leadership style -- because
it is a female style. Calling women "strong" is a Feminist
metaphor-tactic, aimed at distracting attention from female physical
weakness, because of which women are given the benefit of double
standards when applying for occupations in the police, fire service
and military.
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The second statement in the article is as follows: "It's
thought compassionate leadership can help sustain productivity gains."
I'm glad that they mentioned productivity, because I would like
to see a productivity comparison of male-led and female-led countries.
The article compared male-led Ireland with female-led New Zealand,
pointing out that Ireland had more COVID-19 cases and deaths than
New Zealand. However, Ireland's
productivity is far higher than New Zealand's. When are we going
to see these two female economists saying that male-led countries
are better for productivity? We will be waiting forever!
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The most important criticism to be made
of this study, however, is that it is far too early in the coronavirus
crisis for us to be drawing conclusions as to which countries have
"handled the crisis well." The numbers of cases
and deaths are still increasing world-wide, it is not certain that
the current case totals and death totals will end up being the most
important consideration and we do not know what the long-term economic
consequences will be of the various countries' strategies. Even
the authors admit that the strategies of the female leaders "may
have longer-term economic implications," according to the New
Zealand Herald article. The New Zealand government has sheltered
businesses and employees from the worst effects of the lockdowns
by borrowing a lot of money off-shore. However, it will not be able
to keep this up at this rate forever. Either New Zealand conquers
the virus or the virus may conquer New Zealand's economy and produce
so many poverty-induced deaths that the initial number of lives
saved pales in comparison! Moreover, the male-led countries that
have suffered more cases and more deaths may be supporting New Zealand's
economy by keeping their economies in a good enough state to afford
to import New Zealand's exports.
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