RAPID: Uncovering the Effects of COVID-19 on Stress, Well-being and Economic Decision-Making

为减缓COVID-19的传播而采取的措施，如保持社交距离和“居家令”，除了个人、朋友和家人可能被感染之外，还造成了对收入和就业损失的恐惧。因此，COVID-19增加了心理健康负担和压力水平。这种压力水平的增加会影响个人在风险环境中的决策、对有期限付款的选择、向慈善机构捐款的意愿，以及在有机会为个人利益作弊时的诚实度。压力水平的增加会影响偏好和选择以及健康、借贷和储蓄以及人力资本形成等一系列结果。因此，它对个人福祉有长期影响。本研究项目将采用调查和实地实验的方式来研究COVID-19的影响。具体来说，它调查了三个问题：(i) COVID-19对压力、身心健康和偏好有什么影响？（ii）个人是否相信减缓COVID-19传播的战略的有效性，个人是否对负责这些战略的机构有信心？（iii） COVID-19大流行的福利影响是什么？此外，为了避免未来出现类似COVID-19的大流行，个人会放弃多少钱或多少年的生命？这项研究的结果对减少COVID-19传播的战略以及减少COVID-19对家庭福利的影响具有重要的政策意义。这项研究还将有助于确立美国在减少流行病对家庭影响的政策方面的全球领导者地位。本项目在现有项目的基础上，通过调查和实地实验，研究COVID-19引发的压力对经济偏好和决策的影响。该调查有几个独特的特点，使pi能够量化COVID-19的非货币成本。该调查衡量了暴露于COVID-19如何影响自我报告的压力水平、生活满意度和心理健康。此外，现场实验引出了个人对时间和风险偏好、诚实和亲社会/利他行为的具体衡量标准，以研究COVID-19引起的压力是否以及如何影响经济偏好和决策。该研究将比较COVID-19的影响（可能通过就业变化影响压力和收入）与交通和拥堵的影响（影响压力，但不会影响收入）。这项研究的结果将为正在进行的关于偏好稳定性以及偏好如何应对暂时冲击（如COVID-19大流行）的辩论提供信息。研究结果还将为政策制定和实施提供重要投入，以减少COVID-19的传播，并减轻其对福利的影响。这项研究将提供在国家危机期间最值得信任的组织的见解，从而指导防止流行病传播的信息战略。这项研究还将有助于确立美国在减少流行病对家庭影响的政策方面的全球领导者地位。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing and “stay-at-home” orders have generated the fear of income and employment losses in addition to possibility of the individual, friends and family getting infected. COVID-19 therefore increases burdens on mental well-being and stress levels. Such increased stress levels affect individuals’ decision-making in risky environments, choices over time-dated payments, willingness to donate to charities, and honesty when provided the opportunity to cheat for personal gain. The increased stress levels can impact preferences and choices and a range of outcomes such as health, borrowing and savings, and human capital formation. It therefore has long-term consequences for individual well-being. This research project will use survey and field experiments to study the impact of COVID-19. Specifically, it investigates three questions: (i) What are the effects of COVID-19 on stress, mental and physical health, and preferences? (ii) Do individuals believe in the effectiveness of strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19 and do individuals have confidence in institutions responsible for these strategies? and (iii) What are the welfare effects of the COVID-19 pandemic? In addition, how much money or how many years of life would individuals give up in order to avoid exposure to a future pandemic similar to COVID-19? The results of this study have important policy implications for strategies to reduce the spread of, as well as reducing the effects of COVID-19 on the welfare of households. This research also will help establish the US as the global leader in policies to reduce the effects of pandemics on households.This project uses a survey and field experiment, built on an existing project, to study the impact of COVID-19 induced stress on economic preferences and decision-making. The survey has several unique features that allows the PIs to quantify non-monetary costs of COVID-19. The survey measures how exposure to COVID-19 affects self-reported levels of stress, life satisfaction, and mental well-being. In addition, the field experiment elicits individual specific measures of time and risk preference, honesty, and pro-social/altruistic behavior, to examine whether and how stress induced by COVID-19 affects economic preferences and decision-making. The study will compare the effects of COVID-19, which may affect both stress and income through changes in employment, to the effects of traffic and congestion, which impact stress, but not income. Results from the study will inform the on-going debate on stability of preferences and how preferences respond to temporary shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The results will also provide important inputs into policy formulation and implementation to reduce the spread of, as well as mitigate the welfare effects of COVID-19. The research will provide insights into which organizations are most trusted during a national crisis, and therefore guide information strategies to prevent the spread of pandemics. This research also will help establish the US as the global leader in policies to reduce the effects of pandemics on households.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.