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The usual suspects: do risk tolerance, altruism, and health predict the response to COVID-19?

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  • Ketki Sheth

    (University of California)

  • Greg C. Wright

    (University of California)

Abstract

We survey college students during California’s stay-at-home order to test whether compliance with social distancing requirements depends on primary preferences and characteristics that affect their marginal benefit from doing so. We find a quarter of students violated the order. Yet, neither risk preference, altruism, nor preexisting health conditions were predictive of compliance. Our findings raise doubt about the efficiency of minimally enforced social distancing policies, as well as commonly assumed motivations for compliance. Our results also imply that those with preexisting health conditions may not voluntarily comply, resulting in higher health care congestion than otherwise expected.

Suggested Citation

  • Ketki Sheth & Greg C. Wright, 2020. "The usual suspects: do risk tolerance, altruism, and health predict the response to COVID-19?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1041-1052, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:18:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1007_s11150-020-09515-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-020-09515-w
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    RePEc Biblio mentions

    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Economics of Welfare > Health Economics > Economics of Pandemics > Specific pandemics > Covid-19 > Health > Distancing and Lockdown > Compliance

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    Cited by:

    1. Shanka, Mesay Sata & Menebo, Mesay Moges, 2022. "When and How Trust in Government Leads to Compliance with COVID-19 Precautionary Measures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1275-1283.
    2. Henrike Sternberg & Janina Isabel Steinert & Tim Büthe, 2023. "Compliance in the Public versus the Private Realm: Economic Preferences, Institutional Trust and COVID-19 Health Behaviors," Munich Papers in Political Economy 28, Munich School of Politics and Public Policy and the School of Management at the Technical University of Munich.
    3. Maja Adena & Julian Harke, 2022. "COVID-19 and pro-sociality: How do donors respond to local pandemic severity, increased salience, and media coverage?," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 25(3), pages 824-844, June.
    4. Seres, Gyula & Balleyer, Anna Helen & Cerutti, Nicola & Danilov, Anastasia & Friedrichsen, Jana & Liu, Yiming & Süer, Müge, 2021. "Face masks increase compliance with physical distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 7(2), pages 139-158.
    5. Rafaï, Ismaël & Blayac, Thierry & Dubois, Dimitri & Duchêne, Sébastien & Nguyen-Van, Phu & Ventelou, Bruno & Willinger, Marc, 2023. "Stated preferences outperform elicited preferences for predicting reported compliance with COVID-19 prophylactic measures," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    6. George Davis, 2021. "The many ways COVID-19 affects households: consumption, time, and health outcomes," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 281-289, June.
    7. Geoffard, Pierre-Yves & Etilé, Fabrice, 2020. "Anxiety Increases The Willingness To Be Exposed To Covid-19 Risk Among Young Adults In France," CEPR Discussion Papers 15560, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Henrike Sternberg & Janina Isabel Steinert & Tim Büthe, 2024. "Compliance in the public versus the private realm: Economic preferences, institutional trust and COVID‐19 health behaviors," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 1055-1119, May.
    9. Fabrice Etilé & Pierre-Yves Geoffard, 2020. "Anxiety Increases the Willingness the Willingness to Be Exposed to Covid-19 Risk among Young Adults in France," PSE Working Papers halshs-03066539, HAL.
    10. SeEun Jung & Sang-Hyun Kim, 2020. "Managing the Public Health Risks in the Time of COVID-19," Working papers 2020rwp-181, Yonsei University, Yonsei Economics Research Institute.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Risk; Altruism; Health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General

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