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The meaning of masks

Author

Listed:
  • Cass R. Sunstein

    (Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University)

Abstract

Many incentives are monetary, and when private or public institutions seek to change behavior, it is natural to change monetary incentives. But many other incentives are a product of social meanings, about which people may not much deliberate, but which can operate as subsidies or as taxes. In some times and places, for example, the social meaning of smoking has been positive, increasing the incentive to smoke; in other times and places, it has been negative, and thus served to reduce smoking. With respect to safety and health, including the wearing of masks to avoid health risks, social meanings change radically over time, and they can be dramatically different in one place from what they are in another. Often people live in accordance with meanings that they deplore, or at least wish were otherwise. But it is exceptionally difficult for individuals to alter meanings on their own. Alteration of meanings can come from law, which may, through a mandate, transform the meaning of action into a bland, "I comply with law," or into a less bland, "I am a good citizen." Alteration of social meanings can also come from large-scale private action, engineered or promoted by "meaning entrepreneurs," who can turn the meaning of action from, "I am an oddball," to, "I do my civic duty," or, "I protect others from harm." Sometimes subgroups rebel against new or altered meanings, produced by law or meaning entrepreneurs, but often those meanings stick and produce significant change.

Suggested Citation

  • Cass R. Sunstein, 2020. "The meaning of masks," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 4(S), pages 5-8, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:beh:jbepv1:v:4:y:2020:i:s:p:5-8
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Phil Lord, 2020. "The social perils and promoise of remote work," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 4(S), pages 63-67, June.
    2. Zhihan Cui & Geoffrey Heal & Howard Kunreuther & Lu Liu, 2021. "The Political Economy of Responses to COVID-19 in the U.S.A," NBER Working Papers 28578, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Kalliu Carvalho Couto & Flora Moura Lorenzo & Marco Tagliabue & Marcelo Borges Henriques & Roberta Freitas Lemos, 2020. "Underlying Principles of a Covid-19 Behavioral Vaccine for a Sustainable Cultural Change," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-24, December.
    4. Zhihan Cui & Geoffrey Heal & Howard Kunreuther, 2020. "Covid-19, Shelter-In Place Strategies and Tipping," NBER Working Papers 27124, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Ankush Asri & Viola Asri & Baiba Renerte & Franziska Föllmi-Heusi & Joerg D Leuppi & Juergen Muser & Reto Nüesch & Dominik Schuler & Urs Fischbacher, 2021. "Wearing a mask—For yourself or for others? Behavioral correlates of mask wearing among COVID-19 frontline workers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(7), pages 1-13, July.
    6. Mounir Amdaoud & Giuseppe Arcuri & Nadine Levratto & Marianna Succurro & Damiana Costanzo, 2020. "Geography of COVID-19 outbreak and first policy answers in European regions and cities [Géographie de la Covid-19 et réponses politique des régions et villes européennes]," Working Papers halshs-03046489, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    precautions; social meaning; meaning entrepreneurs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E71 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on the Macro Economy
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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