Effects of lockdowns in shaping socioeconomic behaviors

Abstract

Lockdowns were implemented to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. However, it is unclear how severely curtailed physical interaction shapes individual behaviors that are considered vital for socioeconomic development. In this exploratory study, we investigate the behavior of college students who experienced a strict campus-wide lockdown and those who did not. Employing a combination of experimental and survey methodologies, we elicit students' behavioral variables, which are then integrated with administrative records from the university. We find that those exposed to the lockdown were more likely to trust others and be honest; however, their creativity was lower. Exposure to the lockdown was not found to significantly affect students' trustworthiness, risk preferences, or competitiveness. A follow-up study reveals that the lower creativity among students may be attributed to reduced communication frequency with friends during the lockdown, mediating the lockdown's impact. Conversely, the effects of the lockdown on trust and honesty may operate through a direct pathway, independent of changes in daily activities during the lockdown. Further analysis reveals a gender-dependent trend, with lockdowns exerting a more pronounced influence on male students than their female counterparts. These results underscore the consequences of lockdowns and advocate for enhanced support networks, emphasizing the importance of communicating with friends in similar circumstances.

Keywords: economic experiment; individual behavior; lockdown.

Fig. 1.

Lockdown experience and socioeconomic behaviors. This figure compares experimental game and questionnaire outcomes in Study 1 as well as academic and physical education scores between students with and without the lockdown experience. Trust and Trustworthiness are measured on a 0 to 100 scale based on tokens sent and returned in Game 1. Risk Preference is measured on a 0 to 100 scale based on the investment decision in Game 2. Competitiveness is a binary variable indicating whether the participant chose the competitive payment option in Game 3. Honesty is a binary variable based on whether the participant honestly reported their month of birth in Game 4. Creativity is measured on a 0 to 100 scale based on the creativity score in Game 5. Mental Health is a composite score derived from 15 questions from the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Future Expectations is measured on a 0 to 10 scale based on the participant’s perspective on future economic development. Academic Score (After) and PE Score (After) measure the participant’s academic and physical education scores, respectively, in the semester after the lockdown.

Fig. 2.

Lockdown experience and daily activity changes. This figure presents the raw difference-in-differences estimation coefficients for the daily activity change captured by Study 2 during the lockdown period between the lockdown and nonlockdown groups. The dependent variables capture the differences in the following aspects before and during the lockdown: average daily usage of mobile phone (Phone), personal computer (PC), and tablet (Tablet); frequency of using social media (Social media), communication apps (Communication), and online platforms for education, work, or hobbies (Online platform); number of close friends (Close friend); frequency of communicating with friends (Comm. friend); and satisfaction with roommates (Roommate). The independent variables include the dummy variable recording students’ lockdown experience and observed student characteristics. The position of each diamond shape represents the point estimate for the lockdown dummy, and the error bar around it represents the corresponding 95% CI.

Fig. 3.

Mediation analyses. This figure plots mediation analyses for how the lockdown affected students’ trust, honesty, creativity, and academic performance through the frequency of using online platforms and communicating with friends as potential mediators. *, **, and *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% levels, respectively.

Fig. 4.

Lockdown experience and socioeconomic behaviors by gender. This figure compares experimental game and questionnaire outcomes in Study 1 as well as academic and physical education scores between students with and without the lockdown experienced, categorized by gender. Trust and Trustworthiness are measured on a 0 to 100 scale based on tokens sent and returned in Game 1. Risk Preference is measured on a 0 to 100 scale based on the investment decision in Game 2. Competitiveness is a binary variable indicating whether the participant chose the competitive payment option in Game 3. Honesty is a binary variable based on whether the participant honestly reported their month of birth in Game 4. Creativity is measured on a 0 to 100 scale based on the creativity score in Game 5. Mental Health is a composite score derived from 15 questions from the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Future Expectations is measured on a 0 to 10 scale based on the participant’s perspective on future economic development. Academic Score (After) and PE Score (After) measure the participant’s academic and physical education scores, respectively, in the semester after the lockdown.

Fig. 5.

Sketch map of the two campuses and lockdown status of districts. This figure plots the relative location of the two campuses and the lockdown status of the districts. The map is for illustrative purposes only, and is not plotted to scale.