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Social Capital and the Spread of COVID-19: Insights from European Countries

Author

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  • Bartscher, Alina Kristin

    (University of Bonn)

  • Seitz, Sebastian

    (University of Manchester)

  • Siegloch, Sebastian

    (University of Cologne)

  • Slotwinski, Michaela

    (University of Basel)

  • Wehrhöfer, Nils

    (ZEW Mannheim)

Abstract

We explore the role of social capital in the spread of the recent Covid-19 pandemic in independent analyses for Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Exploiting within-country variation, we show that a one standard deviation increase in social capital leads to 12% and 32% fewer Covid-19 cases per capita accumulated from mid-March until mid-May. Using Italy as a case study, we find that high-social-capital areas exhibit lower excess mortality and a decline in mobility. Our results have important implications for the design of local containment policies in future waves of the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Bartscher, Alina Kristin & Seitz, Sebastian & Siegloch, Sebastian & Slotwinski, Michaela & Wehrhöfer, Nils, 2020. "Social Capital and the Spread of COVID-19: Insights from European Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 13310, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13310
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; social capital; collective action; health costs; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • 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
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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