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Updated: Dec 9, 2025

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Self-distancing in Young Children
Published on: March 1, 2019
The spread of social distancing
Jonathan Cook1, Noah Newberger1, Sami Smalling2
1Oeste Corp, Division of Research and Statistics, United States of America.
Abstract:
We find that social distancing is affected by the policies set in neighboring counties, even after controlling for confirmed COVID cases and weather. A stay-at-home order in a neighboring county reduces social distancing by more than half as much as implementing an order in that county. This implies that, to increase social distancing in hard-hit counties, stay-at-home orders need to be implemented in a regionally or federally coordinated response. We also find that estimates of the efficacy of stay-at-home orders that do not control for policies in neighboring counties overstate the effect of these orders by about 50%.
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