IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirb/v50y2023i9p2527-2542.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Structural Changes in Human Mobility Under the Zero-COVID Strategy in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoyan Mu
  • Xiaohu Zhang
  • Anthony Gar-On Yeh
  • Yang Yu
  • Jiejing Wang

Abstract

Over the past two years, China has wrested domestic control of the COVID-19 pandemic through non-pharmaceutical interventions. However, the extent to which the pandemic has changed people’s travel behavior in the new normal under the zero-COVID policy is not yet clear. This study investigates the profound effects of the zero-COVID strategy on human mobility in 365 Chinese cities over time. Our results suggest the following: (1) Even between city pairs with no local cases, intercity mobility decreased by an average of 16%, whereas intra-city mobility increased by 9% compared with the pre-pandemic baseline. Long-distance travel decreased substantially, while trips below 100 km increased slightly. These new trends indicate a localized pattern which is presumably caused by the wide adoption of teleworking and virtual classes, as well as concerns about the safety and availability of public transportation. (2) Containment measures caused a considerably acute decline in intercity short-distance trips but exerted a markedly lasting effect on long-distance trips. (3) Cities with lower levels of urbanization, smaller population sizes, less labor force, and lower GDP and GDP per capita experienced greater reductions in mobility, which may be due to their insufficient management capabilities. (4) The Chinese government has adopted adaptive measures to contain outbreaks. Stricter and more timely responses led to faster recoveries in the second half of 2021 compared with the first half. Inter- and intra-city mobility decreased by 41% and 26%, respectively, within the first 2 weeks of an outbreak, and it took 6-7 weeks to return to pre-outbreak levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoyan Mu & Xiaohu Zhang & Anthony Gar-On Yeh & Yang Yu & Jiejing Wang, 2023. "Structural Changes in Human Mobility Under the Zero-COVID Strategy in China," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(9), pages 2527-2542, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:50:y:2023:i:9:p:2527-2542
    DOI: 10.1177/23998083231159397
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23998083231159397
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/23998083231159397?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Serina Chang & Emma Pierson & Pang Wei Koh & Jaline Gerardin & Beth Redbird & David Grusky & Jure Leskovec, 2021. "Mobility network models of COVID-19 explain inequities and inform reopening," Nature, Nature, vol. 589(7840), pages 82-87, January.
    2. Goolsbee, Austan & Syverson, Chad, 2021. "Fear, lockdown, and diversion: Comparing drivers of pandemic economic decline 2020," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    3. Jay J. Bavel & Aleksandra Cichocka & Valerio Capraro & Hallgeir Sjåstad & John B. Nezlek & Tomislav Pavlović & Mark Alfano & Michele J. Gelfand & Flavio Azevedo & Michèle D. Birtel & Aleksandra Cislak, 2022. "National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Jay J. Van Bavel, 2022. "National Identity Predicts Public Health Support During A Global Pandemic," HKUST IEMS Working Paper Series 2022-81, HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies, revised Jul 2022.
    5. Panayotis Christidis & Aris Christodoulou & Elena Navajas-Cawood & Biagio Ciuffo, 2021. "The Post-Pandemic Recovery of Transport Activity: Emerging Mobility Patterns and Repercussions on Future Evolution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, June.
    6. Jay J. Bavel & Aleksandra Cichocka & Valerio Capraro & Hallgeir Sjåstad & John B. Nezlek & Tomislav Pavlović & Mark Alfano & Michele J. Gelfand & Flavio Azevedo & Michèle D. Birtel & Aleksandra Cislak, 2022. "Author Correction: National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-2, December.
    7. Shengjie Lai & Nick W. Ruktanonchai & Liangcai Zhou & Olivia Prosper & Wei Luo & Jessica R. Floyd & Amy Wesolowski & Mauricio Santillana & Chi Zhang & Xiangjun Du & Hongjie Yu & Andrew J. Tatem, 2020. "Effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain COVID-19 in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 585(7825), pages 410-413, September.
    8. Dabo Guan & Daoping Wang & Stephane Hallegatte & Steven J. Davis & Jingwen Huo & Shuping Li & Yangchun Bai & Tianyang Lei & Qianyu Xue & D’Maris Coffman & Danyang Cheng & Peipei Chen & Xi Liang & Bing, 2020. "Global supply-chain effects of COVID-19 control measures," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(6), pages 577-587, June.
    9. Jonathan Jay & Jacob Bor & Elaine O. Nsoesie & Sarah K. Lipson & David K. Jones & Sandro Galea & Julia Raifman, 2020. "Neighbourhood income and physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(12), pages 1294-1302, December.
    10. Pengyu Zhu, 2012. "Are telecommuting and personal travel complements or substitutes?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 48(2), pages 619-639, April.
    11. Fezzi, Carlo & Fanghella, Valeria, 2021. "Tracking GDP in real-time using electricity market data: Insights from the first wave of COVID-19 across Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 139(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. Yong Ge & Xilin Wu & Wenbin Zhang & Xiaoli Wang & Die Zhang & Jianghao Wang & Haiyan Liu & Zhoupeng Ren & Nick W. Ruktanonchai & Corrine W. Ruktanonchai & Eimear Cleary & Yongcheng Yao & Amy Wesolowsk, 2023. "Effects of public-health measures for zeroing out different SARS-CoV-2 variants," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Akfırat, Serap & Bayrak, Fatih & Üzümçeker, Emir & Ergiyen, Tolga & Yurtbakan, Taylan & Uysal, Mete Sefa, 2023. "The roles of social norms and leadership in health communication in the context of COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    3. Borau, Sylvie & Couprie, Hélène & Hopfensitz, Astrid, 2022. "The prosociality of married people: Evidence from a large multinational sample," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    4. Christian T. Elbæk & Panagiotis Mitkidis & Lene Aarøe & Tobias Otterbring, 2023. "Subjective socioeconomic status and income inequality are associated with self-reported morality across 67 countries," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Barceló, Joan & Sheen, Greg Chih-Hsin & Tung, Hans H. & Wu, Wen-Chin, 2022. "Vaccine nationalism among the public: A cross-country experimental evidence of own-country bias towards COVID-19 vaccination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    6. Elena Fumagalli & Candelaria Belén Krick & Marina Belén Dolmatzian & Julieta Edith Del Negro & Joaquin Navajas, 2023. "Partisanship predicts COVID-19 vaccine brand preference: the case of Argentina," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Tung, Hans H. & Chang, Teng-Jen & Lin, Ming-Jen, 2022. "Political ideology predicts preventative behaviors and infections amid COVID-19 in democracies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    8. John (Jianqiu) Bai & Shuili Du & Wang Jin & Chi Wan, 2023. "Is social capital associated with individual social responsibility? The case of social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(4), pages 1861-1896, April.
    9. Jaroslaw Kantorowicz, 2023. "Testing public reaction to constitutional fiscal rules violations," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 483-509, December.
    10. Byungjin Park & Joonmo Cho, 2023. "COVID-19 and Age Disparity in Credit Card Expenditures in Korea: Implications on the Government Relief Fund," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    11. repec:cup:judgdm:v:17:y:2022:i:4:p:720-744 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Lin Chen & Fengli Xu & Zhenyu Han & Kun Tang & Pan Hui & James Evans & Yong Li, 2022. "Strategic COVID-19 vaccine distribution can simultaneously elevate social utility and equity," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1503-1514, November.
    13. Dena Bravata & Jonathan H. Cantor & Neeraj Sood & Christopher M. Whaley, 2021. "Back to School: The Effect of School Visits During COVID-19 on COVID-19 Transmission," NBER Working Papers 28645, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Katarzyna Czech & Anna Davy & Michał Wielechowski, 2021. "Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Change Human Mobility Equally Worldwide? Cross-Country Cluster Analysis," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-19, November.
    15. Yang Song & Sungmin Lee & Amaryllis H Park & Chanam Lee, 2023. "COVID-19 impacts on non-work travel patterns: A place-based investigation using smartphone mobility data," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(3), pages 642-659, March.
    16. Meng, Xin & Guo, Mingxue & Gao, Ziyou & Kang, Liujiang, 2023. "Interaction between travel restriction policies and the spread of COVID-19," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 209-227.
    17. Bo Huang & Zhihui Huang & Chen Chen & Jian Lin & Tony Tam & Yingyi Hong & Sen Pei, 2022. "Social vulnerability amplifies the disparate impact of mobility on COVID-19 transmissibility across the United States," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    18. Bo Huang & Jionghua Wang & Jixuan Cai & Shiqi Yao & Paul Kay Sheung Chan & Tony Hong-wing Tam & Ying-Yi Hong & Corrine W. Ruktanonchai & Alessandra Carioli & Jessica R. Floyd & Nick W. Ruktanonchai & , 2021. "Integrated vaccination and physical distancing interventions to prevent future COVID-19 waves in Chinese cities," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(6), pages 695-705, June.
    19. Marco Pangallo & Alberto Aleta & R. Maria del Rio-Chanona & Anton Pichler & David Martín-Corral & Matteo Chinazzi & François Lafond & Marco Ajelli & Esteban Moro & Yamir Moreno & Alessandro Vespignani, 2024. "The unequal effects of the health–economy trade-off during the COVID-19 pandemic," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(2), pages 264-275, February.
    20. Cantor, Jonathan & Sood, Neeraj & Bravata, Dena M. & Pera, Megan & Whaley, Christopher, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and policy response on health care utilization: Evidence from county-level medical claims and cellphone data," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    21. Tianyi Li & Jiawen Luo & Cunrui Huang, 2021. "Urban Epidemic Hazard Index for Chinese Cities: Why Did Small Cities Become Epidemic Hotspots?," Papers 2103.05189, arXiv.org.

    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:sae:envirb:v:50:y:2023:i:9:p:2527-2542. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.