Prosociality predicts health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details
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UNIL restricted access
State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: Not specified
Serval ID
serval:BIB_B6139B0A7FDF
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Prosociality predicts health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Journal
Journal of public economics
ISSN
0047-2727 (Print)
ISSN-L
0047-2727
Publication state
Published
Issued date
03/2021
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
195
Pages
104367
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
Socially responsible behavior is crucial for slowing the spread of infectious diseases. However, economic and epidemiological models of disease transmission abstract from prosocial motivations as a driver of behaviors that impact the health of others. In an incentivized study, we show that a large majority of people are very reluctant to put others at risk for their personal benefit. Moreover, this experimental measure of prosociality predicts health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, measured in a separate and ostensibly unrelated study with the same people. Prosocial individuals are more likely to follow physical distancing guidelines, stay home when sick, and buy face masks. We also find that prosociality measured two years before the pandemic predicts health behaviors during the pandemic. Our findings indicate that prosociality is a stable, long-term predictor of policy-relevant behaviors, suggesting that the impact of policies on a population may depend on the degree of prosociality.
Keywords
COVID-19, Externalities, Health behavior, Prosociality, Social preferences
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
03/05/2021 11:56
Last modification date
09/08/2024 14:52