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Bergeot J, Jusot F. Risk, time preferences, trustworthiness and COVID-19 preventive behavior: evidence from France. THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH ECONOMICS : HEPAC : HEALTH ECONOMICS IN PREVENTION AND CARE 2024; 25:91-101. [PMID: 36807209 PMCID: PMC9938797 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-023-01573-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
We analyze how far-sightedness and risk aversion as well as the perceived trustworthiness of others correlate with COVID-19-related protective behaviors in France. We leverage individual-level data from the corona survey of the Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe linked with a paper questionnaire survey about preferences conducted in France just before the coronavirus outbreak. Our results suggest that far-sightedness and risk aversion are strong predictors of individuals' protective behavior. More far-sighted individuals are more likely to not visit their family members anymore, wear a mask, and keep their distance from others when outside, wash their hands more regularly and cover their cough. Risk aversion increases the likelihood of not meeting more than 5 other people and not meeting with family members anymore. Concerning the perceived trustworthiness, we find that a higher level of trust in others reduces compliance with the recommendations about meeting with 5 or more people and family gatherings. We interpret this result as a sign that individuals with trust in others perceive a lower risk of being infected by friends and family members. Hence, they are more willing to take risks when they engage in social interactions when they perceive their relatives as trustworthy. The government should therefore consider individuals' heterogeneity in preferences and beliefs when implementing a strategy to encourage people to comply with its COVID-19 protective recommendations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Bergeot
- Deparment of Economics, Ca'Foscari University of Venice, San Giobbe 873, Cannaregio, 30121, Venice, Italy.
| | - Florence Jusot
- LEDA, CNRS, Université Paris-Dauphine, Université PSL, 75016, Paris, France
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Lancsar E, Huynh E, Swait J, Breunig R, Mitton C, Kirk M, Donaldson C. Preparing for future pandemics: A multi-national comparison of health and economic trade-offs. HEALTH ECONOMICS 2023; 32:1434-1452. [PMID: 36922370 DOI: 10.1002/hec.4673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Government investment in preparing for pandemics has never been more relevant. The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated debate regarding the trade-offs societies are prepared to make between health and economic activity. What is not known is: (1) how much the public in different countries are prepared to pay in forgone GDP to avoid mortality from future pandemics; and (2) which health and economic policies the public in different countries want their government to invest in to prepare for and respond to the next pandemic. Using a future-focused, multi-national discrete choice experiment, we quantify these trade-offs and find that the tax-paying public is prepared to pay $3.92 million USD (Canada), $4.39 million USD (UK), $5.57 million USD (US) and $7.19 million USD (Australia) in forgone GDP per death avoided in the next pandemic. We find the health policies that taxpayers want to invest in before the next pandemic and the economic policies they want activated once the next pandemic hits are relatively consistent across the countries, with some exceptions. Such results can inform economic policy responses and government investment in health policies to reduce the adverse impacts of the next pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Lancsar
- Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Elisabeth Huynh
- Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Joffre Swait
- Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Robert Breunig
- Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Craig Mitton
- School of Population and Public Health, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Martyn Kirk
- National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Cam Donaldson
- Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK
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Oyenubi A, Kollamparambil U. Does noncompliance with COVID-19 regulations impact the depressive symptoms of others? ECONOMIC MODELLING 2023; 120:106191. [PMID: 36628053 PMCID: PMC9816162 DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2023.106191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Before vaccines became commonly available, compliance with nonpharmaceutical only preventive measures offered protection against COVID-19 infection. Compliance is therefore expected to have physical health implications for the individual and others. Moreover, in the context of the highly contagious coronavirus, perceived noncompliance can increase the subjective risk assessment of contracting the virus and, as a result, increase psychological distress. However, the implications of (public) noncompliance on the psychological health of others have not been sufficiently explored in the literature. Examining this is of utmost importance in light of the pandemic's elevated prevalence of depressive symptoms across countries. Using nationally representative data from South Africa, we explore the relationship between depressive symptoms and perceived noncompliance. We examine this relationship using a double machine learning approach while controlling for observable selection. Our result shows that the perception that neighbors are noncompliant is correlated with self-reported depressive symptoms. Therefore, in the context of a highly infectious virus, noncompliance has detrimental effects on the wellbeing of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adeola Oyenubi
- School of Economics & Finance University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
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