Social capital and the spread of Covid-19: insights from European countries

Bartscher, Alina Kristin ; Seitz, Sebastian ; Siegloch, Sebastian ; Slotwinski, Michaela ; Wehrhöfer, Nils

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URL:	https://madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/55899
URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-558999
Document Type:	Working paper
Year of publication:	2020
The title of a journal, publication series:	ZEW Discussion Papers
Volume:	20-023
Place of publication:	Mannheim
Publication language:	English
Institution:	School of Law and Economics > VWL, Wirtschaftspolitik u. Politische Ökonomie (Juniorprofessur) (Siegloch 2014-2017) School of Law and Economics > Finanzwissenschaft u. Wirtschaftspolitik (Janeba 2004-) Sonstige Einrichtungen > ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung
MADOC publication series:	Veröffentlichungen des ZEW (Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung) > ZEW Discussion Papers
Subject:	330 Economics
Classification:	JEL: D04 , A13 , D91 , H11 , H12 , I10 , I18,
Keywords (English):	Europe , Covid-19 , social capital , collective action , health costs
Abstract:	We explore the role of social capital in the spread of the recent Covid-19 pandemic in independent analyses for Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. We exploit within-country variation in social capital and Covid-19 cases to show that high-social-capital areas accumulated between 12% and 32% fewer Covid-19 cases per capita from mid-March until mid-May. Using Italy as a case study, we find that high-social-capital areas exhibit lower excess mortality and a decline in mobility. Our results have important implications for the design of local containment policies in future waves of the pandemic.