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Shelter in place? Depends on the place: Corruption and social distancing in American states

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  • Dincer, Oguzhan
  • Gillanders, Robert

Abstract

We investigate the links between corruption and compliance with social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic in America. Both theory and empirical evidence point to a corrosive effect of corruption on trust/social capital which in turn determine people's behavior towards compliance with public health policies. Using data from 50 states we find that people who live in more corrupt states are less likely to comply with so called shelter in place/stay at home orders. Our results are robust to different measures of corruption.

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  • Dincer, Oguzhan & Gillanders, Robert, 2021. "Shelter in place? Depends on the place: Corruption and social distancing in American states," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:269:y:2021:i:c:s0277953620307887
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113569
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    1. Chris Sampson’s journal round-up for 25th January 2021
      by Chris Sampson in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2021-01-25 12:01:17

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    3. Xin, Meiqi & Lau, Joseph Tak-fai & Lau, Mason M.C., 2022. "Multi-dimensional factors related to participation in a population-wide mass COVID-19 testing program among Hong Kong adults: A population-based randomized survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    4. Mohammad Amin Hariri-Ardebili, 2020. "Living in a Multi-Risk Chaotic Condition: Pandemic, Natural Hazards and Complex Emergencies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Vincenzo Carrieri & Raffele Lagravinese & Giuliano Resce, 2021. "Predicting vaccine hesitancy from area‐level indicators: A machine learning approach," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(12), pages 3248-3256, December.
    6. Gebka, Bartosz & Kanungo, Rama Prasad & Wildman, John, 2024. "The transition from COVID-19 infections to deaths: Do governance quality and corruption affect it?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 235-253.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption; COVID-19; Social distancing; Trust; Social capital; American States;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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