The Drivers of Compliance with Social-Distancing Measures at the Time of Covid-19

This chapter provides a selective review of the economics literature on the drivers of compliance with COVID-19 social-distancing measures. The review focuses on the effect of individual traits and constraints, policies informed by behavioral science, and incentives. It highlights four sets of findings: First, individual behavior responds to information, whether it comes from official communications or observations of the behavior of others; second, “soft-touch” policy interventions did not have large effects on compliance; third, individuals’ prosocial motivation and certain economic incentives (e.g., monetary fines) were effective in enhancing compliance; and fourth, compliance depended on individual characteristics that impacted the costs and benefits (e.g., a person’s ability to work from home). Conclusions, however, are inevitably provisional as the evidence on the topics discussed in this chapter continues to be collected.