We first estimate effects of experiencing economic disruptions during the first COVID-19 lockdown on information source recall, social distancing, and hygiene behaviors (Table 2). We find that households that experienced substantial economic COVID-19 disruptions recall more public health messaging in the previous year from familiar and external sources. Households that experienced disruptions are 16 (familiar sources) to 21 (external sources) percentage points more likely to recall recent public health messaging related to sanitation and hygiene – increases of 80% and 38% from the baseline means from familiar and external sources, respectively (Table 2, columns (1) and (2)).
Information, social distancing, and hygiene behavior
| . | (1) . | (2) . | (3) . | (4) . | (5) . |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Familiar information source . | External information source . | Social distancing . | Average handwashing . | Monthly soap expenditures . | |
| Economic COVID-19 disruption× Posta | 0.16** (0.06) | 0.21*** (0.07) | 0.11*** (0.04) | −0.63 (10.17) | |
| Economic COVID-19 disruptionb | 0.08* (0.04) | ||||
| Observations | 1,794 | 1, 794 | 869 | 1,794 | 1,786 |
| Household fixed effects | Y | Y | N | Y | Y |
| R2 | 0.53 | 0.56 | 0.02 | 0.59 | 0.63 |
| Baseline mean (disrupted households) | 0.2 | 0.54 | 0.31 | 103.00 |
| . | (1) . | (2) . | (3) . | (4) . | (5) . |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Familiar information source . | External information source . | Social distancing . | Average handwashing . | Monthly soap expenditures . | |
| Economic COVID-19 disruption× Posta | 0.16** (0.06) | 0.21*** (0.07) | 0.11*** (0.04) | −0.63 (10.17) | |
| Economic COVID-19 disruptionb | 0.08* (0.04) | ||||
| Observations | 1,794 | 1, 794 | 869 | 1,794 | 1,786 |
| Household fixed effects | Y | Y | N | Y | Y |
| R2 | 0.53 | 0.56 | 0.02 | 0.59 | 0.63 |
| Baseline mean (disrupted households) | 0.2 | 0.54 | 0.31 | 103.00 |
Notes: Results are reported as coefficient (standard error). Economic COVID-19 disruption refers to households that experienced at least two economic consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020 (out of return migrants, lost wages, deferred purchases, and loan taking). Post refers to the post-lockdown wave of data collection (December 2020–January 2021). Economic COVID-19 disruption × Post is the interaction of these two variables. Columns (1)–(5) include household head secondary education, family size, television ownership, and receipt of Swachh Bharat subsidies as household controls. Column (3) includes household below poverty line status as an addition control. Columns (1), (2), (4), and (5) include a post wave indicator and household fixed effects. All standard errors are clustered at the village level. The baseline mean is calculated among households that experienced substantial economic disruptions during the first COVID-19 lockdown. *p < 0.1; **p < 0.05; ***p < 0.01.
Source: All data come from the baseline (October 2019) and endline (December 2020–January 2021) household surveys.
aCoefficient estimates in this row were obtained from a difference-in-differences specification using data from the baseline (October 2019) and endline (December 2020–January 2021) household surveys.
bCoefficeint estimates in this row were obtained using a linear regression using data from the endline (December 2020–January 2021) household survey only.