Civic Capital and Social Distancing during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Luigi Zingales, John Barrios, Efraim Benmelech, Yael Hochberg and Paola Sapienza

No 14900, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

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.

Keywords: Covid; Civic capital; Voluntary compliance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K42 P16 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ore and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (44)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Civic Capital and Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020)
Working Paper: Civic Capital and Social Distancing during the Covid-19 Pandemic (2020)
Working Paper: Civic Capital and Social Distancing during the Covid-19 Pandemic (2020)
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