Institutional Quarantine and Economic Preferences : Experimental Evidence from China

Quarantine is a public health measure that has been used for centuries to prevent the spread of infectious diseases; however, the social cost of such measures is poorly understood. Based on a quarantine event, we conduct an online lab-in-the-field experiment in China to examine the role of institutional quarantine on economic preferences. We find that institutional quarantine reduces social preferences (altruism, trust, and trustworthiness) but has no influence on risk and time preferences. These impacts persist throughout the quarantine period. Approximately six months after the quarantine event, trust is fully restored, altruism is partially restored, but trustworthiness is not. We also find that a thank-you note can mitigate the negative effects of institutional quarantine on altruism and trust, but not on trustworthiness. Policymakers should consider effective strategies to mitigate the detrimental effects of institutional quarantine