Learning during a crisis: The SARS epidemic in Taiwan

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bennett, Daniel; Chiang, Chun-Fang; Malani, Anup
• 署名单位: University of Chicago; National Taiwan University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2014.09.006
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 1-18
• 关键词: SARS; social learning; peer effects; Prevalence response; Economic epidemiology; CRISIS

摘要

SARS struck Taiwan in 2003, causing a national crisis. Many people feared that SARS would spread through the health care system, and outpatient visits fell by more than 30% in the course of a few weeks. We examine how both public information and the behavior and opinions of peers contributed to this reaction. We identify a peer effect through a difference-in-difference comparison of longtime residents and recent arrivals, who are less socially connected. Although several forms of social interaction may contribute to this pattern, social learning is a plausible explanation for our finding. We find that people respond to both public information and to their peers. In a dynamic simulation based on the regressions, social interactions substantially magnify the response to SARS. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.