Seminar No. 222
Title: COVID-19, (Expected) Individual Behaviors, and Relevant Government Policies – Two Studies Based on a Longitudinal Survey
Speaker: Jubo Yan, Nanyang Technological University
Time: May 12th, 2020 10:00-11:30
Venue: Online
About the speaker:
Jubo Yan is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He received his PhD degree from the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University in 2015. His major research interests are behavioral economics and applied microeconomics. He also works on environmental issues especially those related to externalities that call for policy interventions. Jubo Yan has published in international journals like the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, among others.
Abstract:
Study 1: Which type of policy can help maintain individuals’ expectations regarding economic prospects during an epidemic? We implemented an incentivized longitudinal online survey with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) during the COVID-19 epidemic in China to answer this question. We find that a lower number of confirmed COVID-19 cases significantly increases individuals’ expectations regarding GDP growth. However, individuals do not update their expectations when information on the work resumption rate is provided in the RCT. Our finding tells policymakers that, during an epidemic, containing the spread of the disease should be prioritized over resuming economic activities, at least from the perspective of maintaining individuals’ positive economic expectations.
Study 2: The areas and groups geographically linked to the pandemic are especially heavily hit by the negative demand shock due to possible stigmatization and thus continuously receive unfavorable treatments in the market. We study the effect of low-cost information treatments on mitigating such negative demand shocks using a field experiment. By combining two randomly assigned treatments (reason and emotion) targeting Hubei products and a choice experiment, we find that the respondents are more likely to choose a similar non-Hubei option at the same price and require a substantial amount of compensation to switch to the Hubei option. More importantly, results show that both treatments are effective in reducing the negative demand shocks with the reason and emotion treatments affecting the higher and lower stake choices respectively.
Interested in this webinar? Please contact Feiyan at feiyantang@jnu.edu.cn, or scan the QR code bellow to register by May 11th (12 PM).
