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The Geography of Social Distancing in Canada: Evidence from Facebook

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  • Jeff Chan

Abstract

This article analyzes which characteristics are correlated with mobility reductions during the COVID-19 pandemic, using census-division-level mobility data for Canada from Facebook. There is significant variation in the extent to which social distancing was applied in April, relative to a preperiod of February. I find that the population and population density of a census division are strongly correlated with larger mobility reductions. Conversely, I find that areas with a larger share of dwellings that are apartments exhibit smaller mobility reductions, suggesting that those in tighter living conditions may find it less possible to stay at home during the pandemic. Finally, I examine the persistence of mobility reductions into May and show that areas with a larger apartment dwelling share are more likely to maintain their social distancing over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeff Chan, 2020. "The Geography of Social Distancing in Canada: Evidence from Facebook," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 46(S1), pages 19-28, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:46:y:2020:i:s1:p:s19-s28
    DOI: 10.3138/cpp.2020-050
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    Cited by:

    1. Basu Parantap & Bell Clive & Edwards Terence Huw, 2022. "COVID Social Distancing and the Poor: An Analysis of the Evidence for England," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 22(1), pages 211-240, January.
    2. Bishoy Louis Zaki & Francesco Nicoli & Ellen Wayenberg & Bram Verschuere, 2022. "Contagious inequality: economic disparities and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic [Excess all-cause mortality and COVID-19-related mortality: A temporal analysis in 22 countries, from J," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 41(2), pages 199-216.
    3. Anastasios Papanastasiou & Bradley J. Ruffle & Angela Zheng, 2022. "Compliance with social distancing: Theory and empirical evidence from Ontario during COVID‐19," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 705-734, February.
    4. Daniel Goetz, 2022. "Does providing free internet access to low‐income households affect COVID‐19 spread?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(12), pages 2648-2663, December.

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