AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Adapting to the COVID-19 Pandemic
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 111,
May 2021
(pp. 351–55)
Abstract
From early in the COVID-19 pandemic, economists have stressed the importance of individuals endogenously changing their behavior to reduce their risk of infection. This paper quantifies time variation in the endogenous behavioral response of economic activity to the prevalence of the virus using an estimated behavioral SIR model with time-varying parameters. We find significant variation in both the relationship between economic activity and viral prevalence and the relationship between transmissibility and economic activity. This variation reflects adaptation to the pandemic and has implications both for specification of behavioral SIR models and for the next stage of the pandemic.Citation
Droste, Michael, and James H. Stock. 2021. "Adapting to the COVID-19 Pandemic." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 351–55. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211063Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making