Political beliefs affect compliance with government mandates

We use the state-mandated stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic as a set-ting to study whether political beliefs inhibit compliance with government orders. Using geolocation data sourced from smartphones, we find residents in Republican counties are less likely to completely stay at home after a state order has been implemented relative to those in Democratic counties. Debit card transaction data shows that Democrats are more likely to switch to remote spending after state orders are implemented. Heterogeneity in factors such as Covid-19 risk exposure, geography, and county characteristics do not com-pletely rule out our findings, suggesting political beliefs are an important determinant in the effectiveness of government mandates. Political alignment with officials giving orders may partially explain these partisan differences. ? 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study indicates that political beliefs play a role in compliance with government stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, with residents in Republican counties being less likely to completely stay at home and Democrats more likely to switch to remote spending. Factors such as Covid-19 risk exposure, geography, and county characteristics do not fully explain these findings, suggesting that political beliefs are a significant determinant in the effectiveness of government mandates. Political alignment with officials giving orders may partially explain the partisan differences observed.