Who wears a mask? Gender differences in risk behaviors in the COVID-19 early days in Taiwan

Yating Chuang and John Chung-En Liu ()
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John Chung-En Liu: National Taiwan University

Economics Bulletin, 2020, vol. 40, issue 4, 2619-2627

Abstract: We evaluate mask-wearing behaviors in response to COVID-19 based on 12,208 observations in February 2020 in Taiwan. We find that, compared to men, women are 16 percent more likely to wear masks as a way to protect themselves during the pandemic. The protective behaviors, however, decrease significantly when people are with others. This gender difference in mask-wearing has dropped the most when people are with a mixed-gender group. Our results call for attention to gender differences and peer dynamics when discussing health protection behaviors in the COVID-19 crisis.

Keywords: Risk Preference; Risk Behavior; Face Masks; Gender; Peer Effects; Taiwan; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C9 I1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-10-12
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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