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Voluntary adoption of social welfare-enhancing behavior: Mask-wearing in Spain during the COVID-19 outbreak

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  • Joan Barceló
  • Greg Chih-Hsin Sheen

Abstract

With the spread of COVID-19, more countries now recommend their citizens to wear facemasks in public. The uptake of facemasks, however, remains far from universal in countries where this practice lacks cultural roots. In this paper, we aim to identify the barriers to mask-wearing in Spain, a country with no mask-wearing culture. We conduct one of the first nationally representative surveys (n = 4,000) about this unprecedented public health emergency and identify the profile of citizens who are more resistant to face-masking: young, educated, unconcerned with being infected, and with an introverted personality. Our results further indicate a positive correlation between a social norm of mask-wearing and mask uptake and demonstrate that uptake of facemasks is especially high among the elderly living in localities where mask-wearing behavior is popular. These results are robust when controlling for respondents’ demographics, time spent at home, and occupation fixed effects. Our findings can be useful for policymakers to devise effective programs for improving public compliance.

Suggested Citation

  • Joan Barceló & Greg Chih-Hsin Sheen, 2020. "Voluntary adoption of social welfare-enhancing behavior: Mask-wearing in Spain during the COVID-19 outbreak," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0242764
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242764
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Valerio Capraro & Hélène Barcelo, 2020. "The effect of messaging and gender on intentions to wear a face covering to slow down COVID-19 transmission," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 4(S2), pages 45-55, December.
    2. Dorte Gyrd‐Hansen & Peder Andreas Halvorsen & Ivar Sønbø Kristiansen, 2008. "Willingness‐to‐pay for a statistical life in the times of a pandemic," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(1), pages 55-66, January.
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    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Economics of Welfare > Health Economics > Economics of Pandemics > Specific pandemics > Covid-19 > Health > Distancing and Lockdown > Voluntary

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