Managing Expectations Is Critical to Ensure Compliance with Stay-at-Home Measures

by Guglielmo Briscese, Nicola Lacetera, Mario Macis, and Mirco Tonin A study of a representative sample of Italians finds that 50 percent of respondents reported having adopted all recommended actions, including staying at home, not meeting people, and going to the grocery store as infrequently as possible. People’s intentions to comply depend on whether the length of the extension matches their expectations (or not) As of today, 30 US states and the District of Columbia have issued “Stay-at-Home” orders in an effort to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, and similar provisions are in place in many countries around the world. […]