Elsevier

Economic Modelling

Volume 113, August 2022, 105874
Economic Modelling

COVID-19 regulations, culture, and the environment

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2022.105874Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We explore the impact of COVID-19 containment measures on air quality.

  • Countries with stringent COVID-19 containment policies had better air quality.

  • The effect of policy stringency is lower in a society with a collectivistic culture.

  • The paper highlights the role of cultural differences in policy implementation.

  • The results have implications for the formulation of environmental policies.

Abstract

The economic and social disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are immense. Unexpectedly, a positive outcome of the stringent Covid restrictions has come in the form of air pollution reduction. Pollution reduction, however, has not happened everywhere at equal rates. Why are lockdown measures not producing this positive externality in all countries? Using satellite-based Aerosol Optical Depth data and panel analysis conducted at the country-day level, we find that the countries that have adopted stringent COVID-19 containment policies have experienced better air quality. Nonetheless, this relationship depends on the cultural orientation of a society. Our estimates indicate that the effect of policy stringency is lower in societies imbued with a collectivistic culture. The findings highlight the role of cultural differences in the successful implementation of policies and the realization of their intended outcomes. It implies that pollution mitigation policies are less likely to yield emission reduction in collectivist societies.

Keywords

COVID-19
Government policy
Environment
Pollution
Culture
Individualism

JEL classification

K20
Q53
Z18

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