Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/247708 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of the Economic Science Association [ISSN:] 2199-6784 [Volume:] 7 [Issue:] 2 [Publisher:] Springer US [Place:] New York [Year:] 2021 [Pages:] 139-158
Publisher: 
Springer US, New York
Abstract: 
Governments across the world have implemented restrictive policies to slow the spread of COVID-19. Recommended face mask use has been a controversially discussed policy, among others, due to potential adverse effects on physical distancing. Using a randomized field experiment (N = 300), we show that individuals kept a significantly larger distance from someone wearing a face mask than from an unmasked person during the early days of the pandemic. According to an additional survey experiment (N = 456) conducted at the time, masked individuals were not perceived as being more infectious than unmasked ones, but they were believed to prefer more distancing. This result suggests that wearing a mask served as a social signal that led others to increase the distance they kept. Our findings provide evidence against the claim that mask use creates a false sense of security that would negatively affect physical distancing. Furthermore, our results suggest that behavior has informational content that may be affected by policies.
Subjects: 
COVID-19
health policy
face masks
risk compensation
social signaling
field experiment
JEL: 
C93
D9
I12
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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