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The effectiveness of social distancing in containing Covid-19

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  • Imad A. Moosa

Abstract

A statistical measure of the containment of Covid-19 is proposed to describe seven possible outcomes ranging from the worst outcome of ‘beyond control’ and the best outcome of ‘under control with rapid progress towards zero infections’. This measure is used to examine the performance of 10 countries with emphasis on the role of government-imposed measures of social distancing (lockdown, etc.). The results show that social distancing is effective, even though it is difficult to separate the effect of government measures from that of social distancing triggered by personal initiatives. The experience of Sweden shows that social distancing as a personal initiative is inadequate for the purpose of containing the virus. The experience of Brazil shows that taking the virus lightly brings about serious consequences.

Suggested Citation

  • Imad A. Moosa, 2020. "The effectiveness of social distancing in containing Covid-19," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(58), pages 6292-6305, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:52:y:2020:i:58:p:6292-6305
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2020.1789061
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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 > Effect on Health

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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Wenjia & Wu, Yulin & Deng, Guobang, 2024. "Social and spatial disparities in individuals’ mobility response time to COVID-19: A big data analysis incorporating changepoint detection and accelerated failure time models," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    2. Jagriti Srivastava & Aravind Sampath & Balagopal Gopalakrishnan, 2021. "Is CSR the key to unlocking debt financing during COVID-19? A multicountry perspective," Working papers 481, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    3. Martin, Diego A. & Romero, Dario A., 2024. "Social distancing and COVID-19 under violence: Evidence from Colombia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    4. Srivastava, Jagriti & Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal, 2021. "In-kind financing during a pandemic: Trade credit and COVID-19," MPRA Paper 111433, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Dec 2021.
    5. Habibullah, Muzafar & Saari, Mohd Yusof & Haji Din, Badariah & Safuan, Sugiharso & Utit, Chakrin, 2021. "Labour Market Reactions to Lockdown Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: An Empirical Note," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 55(1), pages 39-49.
    6. Bernard Yeboah-Asiamah Asare & Elizabeth Thomas & Jacquita S. Affandi & Myles Schammer & Paul Brown & Matthew Pilbeam & Chris Harris & Chris Ellison & Dominika Kwasnicka & Daniel Powell & Christopher , 2021. "Mental Well-Being during COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study of Fly-In Fly-Out Workers in the Mining Industry in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Jagriti Srivastava & Balagopal Gopalakrishnan, 2021. "Work from home amenability and venture capital financing during COVID-19," Working papers 458, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    8. Yingtong Chen & Fei Wu & Dayong Zhang & Qiang Ji, 2024. "Tourism in pandemic: the role of digital travel vouchers in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Prakash, Navendu & Srivastava, Bhavya & Singh, Shveta & Sharma, Seema & Jain, Sonali, 2022. "Effectiveness of social distancing interventions in containing COVID-19 incidence: International evidence using Kalman filter," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    10. Cristiano Maria Verrelli & Fabio Della Rossa, 2024. "Two-Age-Structured COVID-19 Epidemic Model: Estimation of Virulence Parameters through New Data Incorporation," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-13, March.
    11. Srivastava, Jagriti & Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal, 2021. "In-kind financing during a pandemic: Trade credit and COVID-19," MPRA Paper 108951, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Bong Gu Kang & Hee-Mun Park & Mi Jang & Kyung-Min Seo, 2021. "Hybrid Model-Based Simulation Analysis on the Effects of Social Distancing Policy of the COVID-19 Epidemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-17, October.
    13. Priscilla Gomes da Silva & José Gonçalves & Andrés Torres Franco & Elisa Rodriguez & Israel Diaz & Antonio Orduña Domingo & Sonsoles Garcinuño Pérez & Gabriel Alberto March Roselló & Carlos Jesús Dueñ, 2023. "Environmental Dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 in a University Hospital during the COVID-19 5th Wave Delta Variant Peak in Castile-León, Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-11, January.
    14. Rajeev K. Goel & Michael A. Nelson, 2023. "Aggressive COVID‐19 lockdown policies: What factors significantly drove them across nations?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(4), pages 2211-2222, June.
    15. Borja Gambau & Juan C. Palomino & Juan G. Rodríguez & Raquel Sebastian, 2022. "COVID-19 restrictions in the US: wage vulnerability by education, race and gender," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(25), pages 2900-2915, May.
    16. Lee, Kang-Bok & Han, Sumin & Jeong, Yeasung, 2020. "COVID-19, flattening the curve, and Benford’s law," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 559(C).
    17. Tung, Hans H. & Chang, Teng-Jen & Lin, Ming-Jen, 2022. "Political ideology predicts preventative behaviors and infections amid COVID-19 in democracies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    18. Jagriti Srivastava & Balagopal Gopalakrishnan, 2021. "In-kind financing during a pandemic: Trade credit and COVID-19," Working papers 473, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    19. Srivastava, Jagriti & Sampath, Aravind & Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal, 2022. "Is ESG the key to unlock debt financing during the COVID-19 pandemic? International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    20. Hussein, Elham & Daoud, Sumaya & Alrabaiah, Hussam & Badawi, Rawand, 2020. "Exploring undergraduate students’ attitudes towards emergency online learning during COVID-19: A case from the UAE," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

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