The benefits of remoteness – digital mobility data, regional road infrastructure, and COVID-19 infections

Krenz Astrid () and Holger Strulik
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Krenz Astrid: 1948 University of Sussex, Digit Research Centre, Jubilee Building, Falmer, BN1 9SN Brighton, UK

German Economic Review, 2021, vol. 22, issue 3, 257-287

Abstract: We investigate the regional distribution of the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany. We use a novel digital mobility dataset, that traces the undertaken trips on Easter Sunday 2020 and instrument them with regional accessibility as measured by the regional road infrastructure of Germany’s 401 NUTS III regions. We identify a robust negative association between the number of infected cases per capita and average travel time on roads to the next major urban center. What has been a hinderance for economic performance in good economic times, appears to be a benevolent factor in the COVID-19 pandemic: bad road infrastructure. Using road infrastructure as an instrument for mobility reductions we assess the causal effect of mobility reductions on infections. The study shows that keeping mobility of people low is a main factor to reduce infections. Aggregating over all regions, our results suggest that there would have been about 55,600 infections less on May 5th, 2020, if mobility at the onset of the disease were 10 percent lower.

Keywords: Digital technology; Mobility data; Regional road infrastructure; Germany; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 R11 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: The benefits of remoteness: Digital mobility data, regional road infrastructure, and COVID-19 infections (2020)
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DOI: 10.1515/ger-2020-0068

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