When not on his ERC research time, our PI takes an interest in other wealth-related research matters. With the UK currently on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ben Ansell has been interested in discovering what explains social distancing in the UK and has indeed today published a research paper of the same name on King's College London's UK in a Changing Europe platform.
A fascinating paper on a topic which is at the forefront of everyone's mind right now.
The Executive Summary tells us that:
- Google’s data shows that the British public took the lockdown very seriously and, in many cases, were acting ahead of the official government ruling.
- However, some places have locked down more than others. These differences can be explained by income, geography and (more surprisingly) politics.
- There is a difference between Remain and Leave-voting places in the level of social distancing taking place, even when controlling for income, demographics and population density.
- Places that are more ‘Remainy’ than you’d expect given their income, location and demographics are also more likely to have seen reduced workplace activity.
- This difference in the politics of places, with higher Leave vote correlating with lower levels of distancing, exists across and within all regions of Great Britain.
Want to know more? Follow this link to download a copy of the research paper.
