Behavioral Economics in the Epidemiology of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Theory and Simulations

Blas A. Marin-Lopez, David Jimenez-Gomez and José-María Abellán-Perpiñán
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Blas A. Marin-Lopez: Fundamentos del Análisis Económico (FAE), University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
David Jimenez-Gomez: Fundamentos del Análisis Económico (FAE), University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
José-María Abellán-Perpiñán: Applied Economics Department, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-23

Abstract: We provide a game-theoretical epidemiological model for the COVID-19 pandemic that takes into account that: (1) asymptomatic individuals can be contagious, (2) contagion is behavior-dependent, (3) behavior is determined by a game that depends on beliefs and social interactions, (4) there can be systematic biases in the perceptions and beliefs about the pandemic. We incorporate lockdown decisions by the government into the model. The citizens’ and government’s beliefs can exhibit several biases that we discuss from the point of view of behavioral economics. We provide simulations to understand the effect of lockdown decisions and the possibility of “nudging” citizens in the right direction by improving the accuracy of their beliefs.

Keywords: COVID-19; epidemiology; game theory; behavioral economics; public health policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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