Working Paper: NBER ID: w27494
Authors: Pedro Bordalo; Katherine B. Coffman; Nicola Gennaioli; Andrei Shleifer
Abstract: A central question for understanding behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic, at both the individual and collective levels, is how people perceive the health and economic risks they face. We conducted a survey of over 1,500 Americans from May 6 – 13, 2020, to understand these risk perceptions. Here we report some preliminary results. Our most striking finding is that perceived personal health risks associated with Covid-19 fall sharply with age.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: D03; I1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| younger respondents (C83) | perceive significantly higher risks of contracting COVID-19 (I14) |
| younger respondents (C83) | perceive significantly higher risks of hospitalization (I11) |
| younger respondents (C83) | perceive significantly higher risks of death (J17) |
| beliefs about COVID-19 risks (E71) | beliefs about non-COVID-19 health risks (I12) |
| pessimism about COVID-19 outcomes (E66) | broader pessimism regarding other health risks (I12) |
| beliefs about COVID-19 risks for others (E71) | self-assessment of non-COVID-19 risks (D91) |
| salience of COVID-19 (I14) | risk perceptions across various health domains (I10) |