Fines and progressive ideology promote social distancing

Gallo, Edoardo; Halatova, Darija; Langtry, Alastair

Governments have used social distancing to stem the spread of COVID-19, but lack evidence on the most effective policy to ensure compliance. We examine the effectiveness of fines and informational messages (nudges) in promoting social distancing in a web-based interactive experiment conducted during the pandemic on a near-representative sample of the US population. Fines promote distancing, but nudges only have a marginal impact. Individuals do more social distancing when they are aware they are a superspreader. Political ideology also has a causal impact -- progressives are more likely to practice distancing, and they are marginally more responsive to fines.