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Mobility and Engagement Following the SARS-Cov-2 Outbreak

Author

Listed:
  • Tyler Atkinson
  • Jim Dolmas
  • Christoffer Koch
  • Evan F. Koenig
  • Karel Mertens
  • Anthony Murphy
  • Kei-Mu Yi

Abstract

We develop a Mobility and Engagement Index (MEI) based on a range of mobility metrics from Safegraph geolocation data, and validate the index with mobility data from Google and Unacast. We construct MEIs at the county, MSA, state and nationwide level, and link these measures to indicators of economic activity. According to our measures, the bulk of sheltering-in-place and social disengagement occurred during the week of March 15 and simultaneously across the U.S. At the national peak of the decline in mobility in early April, localities that engaged in a 10% larger decrease in mobility than average saw an additional 0.6% of their populations claiming unemployment insurance, an additional 2.8 percentage point reduction in small businesses employment, an additional 2.6 percentage point increase in small business closures, and an additional 3.2 percentage point reduction in new-business applications. A gradual and broad-based resumption of mobility and engagement started in the third week of April.

Suggested Citation

  • Tyler Atkinson & Jim Dolmas & Christoffer Koch & Evan F. Koenig & Karel Mertens & Anthony Murphy & Kei-Mu Yi, 2020. "Mobility and Engagement Following the SARS-Cov-2 Outbreak," Working Papers 2014, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:feddwp:88040
    DOI: 10.24149/wp2014
    Note: June 2020: new title. A previous version of this paper was circulated under the title, Social Distancing Following the SARS-Cov-2 Outbreak.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Aaronson & Scott A. Brave & Michael Fogarty & Ezra Karger & Spencer D. Krane, 2021. "Tracking U.S. Consumers in Real Time with a New Weekly Index of Retail Trade," Working Paper Series WP-2021-05, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, revised 18 Jun 2021.
    2. Ho, Paul & Lubik, Thomas A. & Matthes, Christian, 2023. "How to go viral: A COVID-19 model with endogenously time-varying parameters," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 232(1), pages 70-86.
    3. Liu, Sitian & Su, Yichen, 2021. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for density: Evidence from the U.S. housing market," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    4. Peter Fuleky, 2022. "Nowcasting the trajectory of the COVID-19 recovery," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(11), pages 1037-1041, June.
    5. Constantin Bürgi & Nisan Gorgulu, 2020. "Social Distancing and the Economic Impact of Covid-19 in the United States," CESifo Working Paper Series 8577, CESifo.
    6. Daniel J. Lewis & Karel Mertens & James H. Stock & Mihir Trivedi, 2021. "High-Frequency Data and a Weekly Economic Index during the Pandemic," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 326-330, May.
    7. Xinba Li & Chuanrong Zhang, 2021. "Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis Affect Housing Prices Evenly in the U.S.?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-28, November.
    8. Brave, Scott A. & Butters, R. Andrew & Fogarty, Michael, 2022. "The perils of working with big data, and a SMALL checklist you can use to recognize them," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 481-492.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social Distancing and Economic Activity; Location Data; COVID-19; Social Distancing Index; SARS-Cov-2;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C15 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Statistical Simulation Methods: General
    • E66 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General Outlook and Conditions
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R19 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Other

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