Social distancing as a public good under the COVID-19 pandemic

The purpose of this study is to show that social distancing is a public good under the COVID-19 pandemic. We apply economic theory to analyse a cross-sectional survey. Economic theory is complemented with empirical evidence. An online survey of those aged 30–49 years in Japan (n = 2177) was conducte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public health (London) 2020-11, Vol.188, p.51-53
Main Authors: Cato, S., Iida, T., Ishida, K., Ito, A., McElwain, K.M., Shoji, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Altruism
Collective action problem
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disease control
Economic analysis
Economic impact
Economic theory
Empirical analysis
Female
Humans
Japan - epidemiology
Logit models
Male
Middle Aged
Norms
Pandemics
Pandemics - economics
Pandemics - prevention & control
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control
Polls & surveys
Psychological Distance
Public good
Public shaming
Residence
Sensitivity
Short Communication
Social distancing
Social interactions
Social Norms
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:The purpose of this study is to show that social distancing is a public good under the COVID-19 pandemic. We apply economic theory to analyse a cross-sectional survey. Economic theory is complemented with empirical evidence. An online survey of those aged 30–49 years in Japan (n = 2177) was conducted between April 28 and May 7. Respondents were selected by quota sampling with regard to age group, gender and prefecture of residence. Our main figure shows the proportion of people who increased/did not change/decreased social distancing, relative to the level of altruism and sensitivity to public shaming. The results of OLS and logit models are shown in Supplementary Materials. Social distancing is a public good under the COVID-19 pandemic for which the free-rider problem is particularly severe. Altruism and social norms are crucial factors in overcoming this problem. Using an original survey, we show that people with higher altruistic concerns and sensitivity to shaming are more likely to follow social distancing measures. Altruism and social norms are important for reducing the economic cost of the pandemic. •Social distancing is a public good under the COVID-19 pandemic.•The free-rider problem is particularly severe in the case of COVID-19.•We explain three mechanisms for mitigating the problem—altruism, shaming and legal sanctions.•People with higher altruistic concerns and sensitivity to shaming are more likely to follow social distancing measures.•An important task for policymakers is to integrate psychological, social and legal measures.
ISSN:0033-3506
1476-5616
DOI:10.1016/j.puhe.2020.08.005