Face masks increase compliance with physical distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Gyula Seres, Anna Helen Balleyer (), Nicola Cerutti (), Anastasia Danilov (), Jana Friedrichsen, Yiming Liu () and Müge Süer ()
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Anna Helen Balleyer: University of Groningen
Nicola Cerutti: Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change
Anastasia Danilov: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Yiming Liu: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Müge Süer: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Journal of the Economic Science Association, 2021, vol. 7, issue 2, No 4, 139-158

Abstract: Abstract Governments across the world have implemented restrictive policies to slow the spread of COVID-19. Recommended face mask use has been a controversially discussed policy, among others, due to potential adverse effects on physical distancing. Using a randomized field experiment (N = 300), we show that individuals kept a significantly larger distance from someone wearing a face mask than from an unmasked person during the early days of the pandemic. According to an additional survey experiment (N = 456) conducted at the time, masked individuals were not perceived as being more infectious than unmasked ones, but they were believed to prefer more distancing. This result suggests that wearing a mask served as a social signal that led others to increase the distance they kept. Our findings provide evidence against the claim that mask use creates a false sense of security that would negatively affect physical distancing. Furthermore, our results suggest that behavior has informational content that may be affected by policies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health policy; Face masks; Risk compensation; Social signaling; Field experiment; JEL Classification; C93; D9; I12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1007/s40881-021-00108-6

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