Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/227272 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13745
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper presents preliminary summary results from a longitudinal study of participants in seven U.S. states during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to standard socio-economic characteristics, we collect data on various economic preference parameters: time, risk, and social preferences, and risk perception biases. We pay special attention to predictors that are both important drivers of social distancing and are potentially malleable and susceptible to policy levers. We note three important findings: (1) demographic characteristics exert the largest influence on social distancing measures and mask-wearing, (2) we show that individual risk perception and cognitive biases exert a critical role in influencing the decision to adopt social distancing measures, (3) we identify important demographic groups that are most susceptible to changing their social distancing behaviors. These findings can help inform the design of policy interventions regarding targeting specific demographic groups, which can help reduce the transmission speed of the COVID-19 virus.
Subjects: 
COVID-19
social distancing
masks
mask-wearing
health markets
health economics
cognitive biases
exponential growth
behavioral economics
JEL: 
I11
I12
I18
D81
D91
D62
D64
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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