Masks and Trolleys in San Francisco during the 1918 Influenza Epidemic

Francois Velde ()

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2022, vol. 112, 205-08

Abstract: I analyze daily data on deaths and on mobility (ridership of electric railways) in the city of San Francisco in 1918−1919, using a model that combines a standard epidemiological component, agents who choose economic activity taking infection risk into account, and exogenous restrictions on activity (lockdowns). Masks were imposed twice but restrictions on activity were imposed only once. I use this to estimate the impact of masks on transmission. The behavioral feedback is important in capturing the dynamics of the epidemic, and masks appear to have been effective.

JEL-codes: I12 I18 L92 N32 N72 N92 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20221079

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