The Effect of Social Distancing on the Reach of an Epidemic in Social Networks

Gregory Gutin (), Tomohiro Hirano, Sung-Ha Hwang, Philip Neary () and Alexis Akira Toda
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Gregory Gutin: Royal Holloway, University of London
Philip Neary: Royal Holloway,University of London

No 2013, Discussion Papers from Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM)

Abstract: How does social distancing affect the reach of an epidemic in social networks? We extend the Susceptible-Infected-Removed (SIR) epidemic model to social networks in which individuals are limited in the number of other people they can interact with. While increased social distancing always reduces the spread of an infectious disease, the magnitude varies greatly depending on the topology of the social network. Our results also reveal the importance of coordination at the ‘global’ level. In particular, the public health benefits from social distancing to a group (e.g., a country) may be completely undone if that group maintains connections with outside groups that are not social distancing.

Pages: 17 pages
Date: 2020-05
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Related works:
Journal Article: The effect of social distancing on the reach of an epidemic in social networks (2021)
Working Paper: The effect of social distancing on the reach of an epidemic in social networks (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cfm:wpaper:2013

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