IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i3p896-d484177.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Untying the Precise Impact of COVID-19 Policy on Social Distancing Behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Fakhar Shahzad

    (School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Jianguo Du

    (School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Imran Khan

    (Department of Management Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab 63100, Pakistan)

  • Zeeshan Ahmad

    (Department of Business Administration, Air University, Multan 66000, Pakistan)

  • Muhammad Shahbaz

    (Lyallpur Business School, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab 38000, Pakistan)

Abstract

Social distancing has manifold effects and is used as a non-pharmacological measure to respond to pandemic situations such as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), especially in the absence of vaccines and other useful antiviral drugs. Governments around the globe have adopted and implemented a series of social distancing strategies. The efficacy of various policies and their comparative influence on mechanisms led by public actions and adoptions have not been examined. The differences in types and effective dates of various social distancing policies in various provinces/territories of Pakistan constitute a pure ground to examine the causal effects of each COVID-19 policy. Using the location trends and population movement data released by Google, a quasi-experimental method was used to measure the impact of the government’s various social distancing policies on the people’s existence at home and their outside social mobility. Based on the magnitude and importance of policy influences, this research ranked six social distancing policies whose influence exceeded the effect of voluntary behavior. Our research outcomes describe that the trend of staying at home was firmly pushed by state-wide home order rather than necessary business closings and policies that were associated with public gathering restrictions. Strong government policies have a strong causal effect on reducing social interactions.

Suggested Citation

  • Fakhar Shahzad & Jianguo Du & Imran Khan & Zeeshan Ahmad & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2021. "Untying the Precise Impact of COVID-19 Policy on Social Distancing Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:3:p:896-:d:484177
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/3/896/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/3/896/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Askitas, Nikos & Tatsiramos, Konstantinos & Verheyden, Bertrand, 2020. "Lockdown Strategies, Mobility Patterns and COVID-19," IZA Discussion Papers 13293, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Marie-Claire Aussems & Anne Boomsma & Tom Snijders, 2011. "The use of quasi-experiments in the social sciences: a content analysis," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 21-42, January.
    3. Fakhar Shahzad & Jianguo Du & Imran Khan & Adnan Fateh & Muhammad Shahbaz & Adnan Abbas & Muhammad Umair Wattoo, 2020. "Perceived Threat of COVID-19 Contagion and Frontline Paramedics’ Agonistic Behaviour: Employing a Stressor–Strain–Outcome Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-22, July.
    4. Kaya, Tugberk, 2020. "The changes in the effects of social media use of Cypriots due to COVID-19 pandemic," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Veronika Harantová & Ambróz Hájnik & Alica Kalašová & Tomasz Figlus, 2022. "The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Traffic Flow Characteristics, Emissions Production and Fuel Consumption at a Selected Intersection in Slovakia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Khan, Nawab Ali & Azhar, Mohd & Rahman, Mohd Nayyer & Akhtar, Mohd Junaid, 2022. "Scale development and validation for usage of social networking sites during COVID-19," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    3. Farooq, Ali & Laato, Samuli & Islam, A.K.M. Najmul & Isoaho, Jouni, 2021. "Understanding the impact of information sources on COVID-19 related preventive measures in Finland," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    4. Ismael Salamah Albursan & Mohammad Farhan Al. Qudah & Hafidha Sulaiman Al-Barashdi & Salaheldin Farah Bakhiet & Eqbal Darandari & Sumayyah S. Al-Asqah & Heba Ibraheem Hammad & Mohammed M. Al-Khadher &, 2022. "Smartphone Addiction among University Students in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevalence, Relationship to Academic Procrastination, Quality of Life, Gender and Educational Stage," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    5. Souknilanh Keola & Kazunobu Hayakawa, 2021. "Do Lockdown Policies Reduce Economic and Social Activities? Evidence from NO2 Emissions," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 59(2), pages 178-205, June.
    6. Andrew G. Atkeson & Karen A. Kopecky & Tao Zha, 2024. "Four Stylized Facts About Covid‐19," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 65(1), pages 3-42, February.
    7. Matthew Spiegel & Heather Tookes, 2021. "Business Restrictions and COVID-19 Fatalities [The immediate effect of COVID-19 policies on social distancing behavior in the United States]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5266-5308.
    8. Eckardt, Matthias & Kappner, Kalle & Wolf, Nikolaus, 2020. "Covid-19 across European Regions: the Role of Border Controls," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 507, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    9. Daniel L. Millimet & Christopher F. Parmeter, 2022. "COVID‐19 severity: A new approach to quantifying global cases and deaths," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(3), pages 1178-1215, July.
    10. Hayakawa, Kazunobu & Keola, Souknilanh & Urata, Shujiro, 2022. "How effective was the restaurant restraining order against COVID-19? A nighttime light study in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    11. Massimiliano Ferraresi & Christos Kotsogiannis & Leonzio Rizzo & Riccardo Secomandi, 2020. "The ‘Great Lockdown’ and its Determinants," Working papers 91, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    12. Attar, M. Aykut & Tekin-Koru, Ayça, 2022. "Latent social distancing: Identification, causes and consequences," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(1).
    13. Kim, Jihyun & Merrill Jr., Kelly & Collins, Chad & Yang, Hocheol, 2021. "Social TV viewing during the COVID-19 lockdown: The mediating role of social presence," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    14. Patricio Goldstein & Eduardo Levy Yeyati & Luca Sartorio, 2021. "Lockdown fatigue: The diminishing effects of quarantines on the spread of COVID-19," Working Papers 35, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    15. Cristina PRUND, 2020. "The Abrupt Fall Of The Labor Market: The Case Of The European Labor Market And The Impact Generated By Covid-19," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(1), pages 722-730, November.
    16. Arranz-López, Aldo & Soria-Lara, Julio A., 2022. "ICT use and spatial fragmentation of activity participation in post-COVID-19 urban societies," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    17. Burdett, A. & Davillas, A. & Etheridge, B., 2021. "Weather, psychological wellbeing and mobility during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 21/03, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    18. Masagus M. Ridhwan & Jahen F. Rezki & Asep Suryahadi & Arief Ramayandi, 2021. "A The Impact Of Covid-19 Lockdowns On Household Income, Consumption, And Expectation: Evidence From High," Working Papers WP/07/2021, Bank Indonesia.
    19. Hua Pang & Qinglong Shao, 2023. "Unpacking the Potential Influence of Life Satisfaction on Network Heterogeneity, Emotional Exhaustion and Mobile App Fatigue: A Stressor–Strain–Outcome Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-16, February.
    20. Diego Gudiño & María Jesús Fernández-Sánchez & María Teresa Becerra-Traver & Susana Sánchez, 2022. "Social Media and the Pandemic: Consumption Habits of the Spanish Population before and during the COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-12, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:3:p:896-:d:484177. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.