| Title: |
Social distancing responses to COVID-19 emergency declarations strongly differentiated by income |
| Authors: |
Weill, Joakim A; Stigler, Matthieu; Deschenes, Olivier; Springborn, Michael R |
| Source: |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol 117, iss 33 |
| Publisher Information: |
eScholarship, University of California |
| Publication Year: |
2020 |
| Collection: |
University of California: eScholarship |
| Subject Terms: |
Vaccine Related; Clinical Research; Prevention; Good Health and Well Being; Attitude; COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections; Humans; Income; Models; Theoretical; Pandemics; Physical Distancing; Pneumonia; Viral; Quarantine; United States; inequalities; social distancing |
| Subject Geographic: |
19658 - 19660 |
| Description: |
In the absence of a vaccine, social distancing measures are one of the primary tools to reduce the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We show that social distancing following US state-level emergency declarations substantially varies by income. Using mobility measures derived from mobile device location pings, we find that wealthier areas decreased mobility significantly more than poorer areas, and this general pattern holds across income quantiles, data sources, and mobility measures. Using an event study design focusing on behavior subsequent to state emergency orders, we document a reversal in the ordering of social distancing by income: Wealthy areas went from most mobile before the pandemic to least mobile, while, for multiple measures, the poorest areas went from least mobile to most. Previous research has shown that lower income communities have higher levels of preexisting health conditions and lower access to healthcare. Combining this with our core finding-that lower income communities exhibit less social distancing-suggests a double burden of the COVID-19 pandemic with stark distributional implications. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
unknown |
| Relation: |
qt7w2825m0; https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7w2825m0 |
| DOI: |
10.1073/pnas.2009412117 |
| Availability: |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7w2825m0; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2009412117 |
| Rights: |
public |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.D2DAB5D4 |
| Database: |
BASE |