Abstract
How effective are restrictions on mobility in limiting COVID-19 spread? Using zip code data across five U.S. cities, we estimate that total cases per capita decrease by 19% for every ten percentage point fall in mobility. Addressing endogeneity concerns, we instrument for travel by residential teleworkable and essential shares and find a 25% decline in cases per capita. Using panel data for NYC with week and zip code fixed effects, we estimate a decline of 30%. We find substantial spatial and temporal heterogeneity; east coast cities have stronger effects, with the largest for NYC in the pandemic's early stages.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 103292 |
Journal | Journal of Urban Economics |
Volume | 127 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2022 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Economics and Econometrics
- Urban Studies
Keywords
- COVID-19
- Contagion
- Essential workers
- Mobility
- Public transportation
- Telework