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Discussion Paper Details

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Title: Civic Capital and Social Distancing during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Author(s): John Barrios, Efraim Benmelech, Yael Hochberg, Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales

Publication Date: June 2020

Keyword(s): Civic capital, COVID and voluntary compliance

Programme Area(s): Industrial Organization

Abstract: The success of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain pandemics often depends greatly upon voluntary compliance with government guidelines. What explains variation in voluntary compliance? Using mobile phone and survey data, we show that during the early phases of COVID-19, voluntary social distancing was higher when individuals exhibit a higher sense of civic duty. This is true for U.S. individuals, U.S. counties, and European regions. We also show that after U.S. states began re-opening, social distancing remained more prevalent in high civic capital counties. Our evidence points to the importance of civic capital in designing public policy responses to pandemics.

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Bibliographic Reference

Barrios, J, Benmelech, E, Hochberg, Y, Sapienza, P and Zingales, L. 2020. 'Civic Capital and Social Distancing during the Covid-19 Pandemic'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=14900