Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/251034 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
KOF Working Papers No. 494
Publisher: 
ETH Zurich, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, Zurich
Abstract: 
We study the interplay of non-pharmaceutical containment measures, human behavior, and the spread of COVID-19 in Switzerland. First, we collect sub-national data and construct indices that capture the stringency of containment measures at the cantonal level. Second, we use a vector autoregressive (VAR) model to analyze feedback effects between our variables of interest via structural impulse responses. Our results suggest that increases in the stringency of containment measures lead to a significant reduction of weekly infections as well as debit card transactions, which serve as a proxy for behavioral changes in the population. Furthermore, analyzing different policy measures individually shows that business closures, recommendations to work from home, and restrictions on gatherings have been particularly effective in containing the spread of COVID-19 in Switzerland. Finally, our findings indicate a sizeable voluntary reduction in debit card transactions in response to a positive infection shock.
Subjects: 
COVID-19
Reproduction Rate
Stringency
Switzerland
JEL: 
H12
H51
H73
H75
I18
R59
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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