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Analysis of institutional authors

Bagus, PCorresponding AuthorSanchez-Bayon, ACorresponding Author

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Article

COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Mass Hysteria

Publicated to:International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health. 18 (4): 1-15 - 2021-02-01 18(4), DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041376

Authors: Bagus, Philipp; Antonio Pena-Ramos, Jose; Sanchez-Bayon, Antonio

Affiliations

Rey Juan Carlos Univ, Dept Business Econ ADO Appl Econ & Fundamentals E, Social & Legal Sci Fac, Madrid 28033, Spain - Author
Rey Juan Carlos Univ, Social & Legal Sci Fac, Inst & Moral Philosophy, Dept Appl Econ Hist & Econ 1, Madrid 28033, Spain - Author
Univ Autonoma Chile, Fac Social Sci & Humanities, Providencia 7500912, Chile - Author

Abstract

In this article, we aim to develop a political economy of mass hysteria. Using the background of COVID-19, we study past mass hysteria. Negative information which is spread through mass media repetitively can affect public health negatively in the form of nocebo effects and mass hysteria. We argue that mass and digital media in connection with the state may have had adverse consequences during the COVID-19 crisis. The resulting collective hysteria may have contributed to policy errors by governments not in line with health recommendations. While mass hysteria can occur in societies with a minimal state, we show that there exist certain self-corrective mechanisms and limits to the harm inflicted, such as sacrosanct private property rights. However, mass hysteria can be exacerbated and self-reinforcing when the negative information comes from an authoritative source, when the media are politicized, and social networks make the negative information omnipresent. We conclude that the negative long-term effects of mass hysteria are exacerbated by the size of the state.

Keywords

Alcohol consumptionAnxietyArticleCase fatality rateCommunicationContagionCoronavirus disease 2019Covid-19CultureCulture of fearDepressionDisease burdenDisease exacerbationEconomic aspectEconomic crisisEmotional contagionEpidemicFearGovernmentGroupthinkHealth care policyHealth policyHoardingHumanHumansHysteriaInternetInterpersonal communicationLaw and economicsLockdownMass hysteriaMass mediaMass mediumMental healthMental stressMental-healthNocebo effectNocebo effectsPolicy analysisPolicy errorPolicy implementationPolitical economyPoliticsPsychologyPublic healthResponsesSocial distancingSocial mediaSocial networkStressSuicide

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 5.24. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 3.42 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 72.53 (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-29, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 63
  • Scopus: 76
  • Europe PMC: 31

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-29:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 192.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 192 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 3147.7999999999.
  • The number of mentions on the social network Facebook: 5 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 4459 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 4 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Chile.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Bagus, Philipp) and Last Author (Sánchez Bayón, Antonio).

the authors responsible for correspondence tasks have been Bagus, Philipp and Sánchez Bayón, Antonio.