Black Lives Matter Protests and Risk Avoidance: The Case of Civil Unrest during a Pandemic

Dhaval Dave, Andrew Friedson, Kyutaro Matsuzawa, Joseph J. Sabia and Samuel Safford

Journal of Human Resources, 2025, vol. 60, issue 3, 857-906

Abstract: This study examines the impacts of summer 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests on risk-avoidance behaviors. Using daily anonymized smartphone data on social mobility and an event-study approach, we find that net stay-at-home behavior increased following protest onset. This result is consistent with avoidance behaviors in response to perceived risk of COVID-19 infection and protest-related violence. Furthermore, we find that BLM protests reduced local activities that were potentially riskier for infection than outdoor protests: restaurant and bar-going and retail shopping. We conclude that risk-avoidance behaviors help to explain why BLM protests did not lead to local COVID-19 spread.

JEL-codes: D8 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
Note: DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0121-11463R1
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:60:y:2025:i:3:p:857-906

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