Spreading the disease: Protest in times of pandemics.
Health Econ
; 31(12): 2664-2679, 2022 12.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2034787
ABSTRACT
This study analyzes the impact of large anti-lockdown protests on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany. Since protesters at such large gatherings are very mobile and largely neglect SARS-CoV-2 containment strategies, they may contribute to the regional transmission of the coronavirus. Employing novel data on bus connections of travel companies specialized in driving protesters to these gatherings, and exploiting the timing of two large-scale demonstrations in November 2020, we estimate the causal impact of these protests on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 using an event study framework. Our findings imply sizable increases in infection rates in protesters' origin regions after these demonstrations. A month after the protests, treated areas face a relative increase in infection rates up to 35% compared to non-treated areas. Our results shed light on public health consequences of behavior that ignores potential externalities for the society during a pandemic.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Health Econ
Journal subject:
Health Services
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Hec.4602
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