scholarly journals The social cost of contacts: Theory and evidence for the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248288
Author(s):  
Martin F. Quaas ◽  
Jasper N. Meya ◽  
Hanna Schenk ◽  
Björn Bos ◽  
Moritz A. Drupp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cost ◽  
Social Optimum ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Prevalence Level ◽  
Impure Altruism ◽  
The Social ◽  
Private Protection ◽  
Individual Protection ◽  
Low Prevalence

Building on the epidemiological SIR model, we present an economic model with heterogeneous individuals deriving utility from social contacts creating infection risks. Focusing on social distancing of individuals susceptible to an infection we theoretically characterize the gap between private and social cost of contacts. Our main contribution is to quantify this gap by calibrating the model with unique survey data from Germany on social distancing and impure altruism from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The optimal policy is to drastically reduce contacts at the beginning to almost eradicate the epidemic and keep them at levels that contain the pandemic at a low prevalence level. We find that also in laissez faire, private protection efforts by forward-looking, risk averse individuals would have stabilized the epidemic, but at a much higher prevalence of infection than optimal. Altruistic motives increase individual protection efforts, but a substantial gap to the social optimum remains.

Social Distancing in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-341
Author(s):  
Maria-Lucia Rusu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Control And Management ◽  
Role Of The Government ◽  
Social Level

AbstractThe current COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reconfiguration of the social paradigm and has brought about a challenge in terms of social distancing during this critical period. Dynamic and interconnected social networks are prone to the spread of the virus both individually and at the macro-social level. The spread of the disease is controlled by allowing sensitive people to temporarily reduce their social contacts, as an attitude taken due to the presence of the virus in the local neighborhood. The social distancing promoted by governments and public health bodies comes as a method to control the pandemic, in the absence of antiviral drugs or a vaccine. Therefore, the control and management of this network during the pandemic is essential. The paper aims to present and analyze the changes that this measure produces in all sectors of society, globally. Also, it emphasizes the role of the government in implementing the measure and the need for cooperation of the population.

scholarly journals Self-protection, Psychological Externalities, and the Social Dynamics of Fear

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Antoci ◽  
Alessandro Fiori Maccioni ◽  
Pier Luigi Sacco ◽  
Mauro Sodini
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Evolutionary Game ◽  
Social Optimum ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Public Intervention ◽  
Fear Of Victimization ◽  
The Social ◽  
Private Protection ◽  
Self Protection

We examine the social dynamics of crime by means of evolutionary game theory, and we model the choice of boundedly rational potential victims to privately self-protect against prospective offenders. Negative externalities from self-protection, as the socially transmitted fear of victimization, can influence the strategic choices of victims even with constant or declining crime rates, and this circumstance may lead to Pareto inefficient equilibria with excessive expenses for private protection. Providing higher levels of public security (or of appropriate social care) financed through discriminatory taxation of private defensive behaviors can prevent crime and reduce superfluous self-protection, thus driving the social dynamics toward a more efficient equilibrium. Public policy can therefore be effective in implementing the social optimum. This article extends previous work by Cressman, Morrison, and Wen by increasing the range of possible dynamics and the scope for public intervention. Consequently, in our model, public policy can deter crime and improve the welfare of victims by addressing the intangible aspects of crime, that is, the social dynamics of fear.

The social cost of materialistic preferences

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross P. Crothers ◽  
Jacqueline M. Diggs ◽  
Darwin A. Guevarra ◽  
Jia Wei Zhang ◽  
Ryan T. Howell
Keyword(s):  
Social Cost ◽  
The Social

The Social Cost of Cheap Food

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
SÉBASTIEN RIOUX
Keyword(s):  
Social Cost ◽  
The Social

Judges and defendants

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Pacchioni
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Social Cost ◽  
Peer Review Process ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Contemporary Science ◽  
The Social ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Scientific Publishers

This chapter explores how validation of new results works in science. It also looks at the peer-review process, both pros and cons, as well as scientific communication, scientific journals, and scientific publishers. We give an assessment of the total number of existing journals with peer review. Other topics discussed include the phenomenon of open access, predatory journals and their impact on contemporary science, and the market of scientific publications. Finally, we touch on degenerative phenomena, such as the market of co-authors, bogus papers, and irrelevant and wrong studies, as well as the problem and the social cost of irreproducible results.

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