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Pandemic knowledge and regulation effectiveness: Evidence from COVID-19

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  • Loiacono, Luisa
  • Puglisi, Riccardo
  • Rizzo, Leonzio
  • Secomandi, Riccardo

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 led countries around the world to adopt lockdown measures of varying stringency, with the purpose of restricting the movement of people. However, the effectiveness of these measures on mobility has been markedly different. Employing a difference-in-differences design, we analyse the effectiveness of movement restrictions across different countries. We disentangle the role of regulation (stringency measures) from the role of people's knowledge about the spread of COVID-19. We proxy COVID-19 knowledge by using Google Trends data on the term “Covid”. We find that lockdown measures have a higher impact on mobility the more people learn about COVID-19. This finding is driven by countries with low levels of trust in institutions and low levels of education.

Suggested Citation

  • Loiacono, Luisa & Puglisi, Riccardo & Rizzo, Leonzio & Secomandi, Riccardo, 2022. "Pandemic knowledge and regulation effectiveness: Evidence from COVID-19," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 768-783.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:50:y:2022:i:3:p:768-783
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2022.02.004
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Education; Information; Institutions; Knowledge; Lockdown; Mobility; Stringency Index; JEL Codes; D7; E7; I18;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • E7 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macro-Based Behavioral Economics
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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