Our 32nd President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said:
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
Fear is a strong motivator; it is the basis of fight or flight. Long before a shutdown for businesses was declared in Florida, many individuals who felt they were "at-risk" voluntarily stayed at home. What is the role of fear in the time of COVID-19, and more specifically, to what degree is fear driving our behavior?
A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research teases out the different effects of fear and policy in lockdowns. The number of local deaths was strongly related to reductions in economic activity, accounting for nearly half of the total effect. When comparisons were made between counties with differing lockdown policies, the impact on commerce was reduced by only 7%. The greatest motivator in our behavior was our attitude towards COVID-19 personally, not politically. If you were very concerned that you could get COVID-19 and die, you acted pre-emptively.
Source: Fear: What Is It Good For?
09 Dec 2020, 9:24 am
