<p>#StayAtHome: Social&nbsp;Distancing Policies and&nbsp;Mobility in Latin America&nbsp;and the Caribbean</p>

Abstract

This study examines the impact on human mobility of social distancing policies implemented in 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries in March 2020. We use cell phone data and variation across countries regarding the adoption of these policies and their timing to estimate effects on the percentage of people traveling more than 1 kilometer per day. Results indicate that lockdowns reduced mobility by 10 percentage points during the 15 days following its implementation. This accounts for a third of the decline in mobility between the first week in March and the first week in April in countries that implemented lockdowns. The effect during the second week of implementation is 28% lower compared to the effect documented during the first week. Additionally, we find that school closures reduced mobility by 4 percentage points, but no effects were found for bars and restaurants closures and the cancellation of public events. JEL Classification Codes: C23, H12, I18

“Urban Exodus” During COVID-19 in Mexico? Using Digital Data to Analyze Medium-Term Pandemic Impacts on Internal Population Movements

“…The decline was concentrated in periods with high levels of stringency in 2020. These findings are consistent with the results of studies conducted in the Global North (González-Leonardo et al 2022a and 22022b;Wang et al 2022;Rowe et al 2023b) and also in other Latin American countries (Aromí et al 2023). However, our findings indicate that long-distance flows were more affected by COVID-19 than overall mobility levels.…”

“…Drops ranged from 2.5% in Spain to 8.5% in Australia. Declines were also recorded in some countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, from 3% in Venezuela to 19% in Bolivia (Aromí et al 2023). Reductions of internal population movements were attributed to involuntary immobility due to lockdowns and mobility restrictions, and also to an increase in teleworking and a loss of labour market dynamism (Bernard and Perales 2023).…”

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in persistent changes in the patterns of internal population movements in Latin American countries

“…The highest declines were recorded in Bolivia (19%), Ecuador (17%) and Argentina (16%). Smaller drops of 3% were registered in Paraguay and Venezuela (Aromí et al 2023).…”

“…In Australia, declines in the intensity of population movement were attributed to lockdowns, as well as increased teleworking and a loss of labour market dynamism resulting from the COVID-19-driven economic recession due to business closures and supply shortages (Perales and Bernard 2022). In Latin America and the Caribbean, evidence indicates that the implemention of social distancing policies resulted in 10 percenge decrease in human mobility levels 15 days after they were enacted (Aromí et al 2023). The highest declines were recorded in Bolivia (19%), Ecuador (17%) and Argentina (16%).…”