Abstract

The magnitude and nature of the COVID-19 pandemic prevents public health policies from relying on coercive enforcement. Practicing social distancing, wearing masks and staying at home are voluntary and conditional on the behavior of others. Professor Cristina Bicchieri, along with her colleagues at the Center for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics, conducted a large-scale survey experiment in nine countries and found that both empirical and normative expectations play a significant role in compliance, beyond the effect of any other individual or group characteristic. Moreover, results were driven by an asymmetric interaction with individuals’ trust in government and science. In this seminar, Cristina will present findings from this large-scale research project and discuss how at the macro level, the country-level trust in science, and not in government, becomes a strong predictor of compliance.

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Reference

Cristina Bicchieri (University of Pennsylvania), “Norms, trust and compliance with public health measures”, IAST General Seminar, Toulouse: IAST, April 14, 2021, 16:00–17:00, room Zoom room.