Changes in mobility and socioeconomic conditions during the Covid-19 outbreak

The Institute of Economics will hold a meeting of its Seminar Series on Tuesday, November 24, 2020: Mercedes Campi from the University of Buenos Aires and Marco Dueñas from the University of Bogotà Jorge Tadeo Lozano will present the paper: Changes in mobility and socioeconomic conditions in Bogotá city during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Abstract:

The paper analyzes mobility changes following the implementation of containment measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in Bogotá, Colombia. The authors characterize the mobility network before and during the pandemic and analyze its evolution and changes between January and July 2020. They then link the observed mobility changes to socioeconomic conditions, estimating a gravity model to assess the effect of socioeconomic conditions on mobility flows. The authors observe an overall reduction in mobility trends, but the overall connectivity between different areas of the city remains after the lockdown, reflecting the mobility network's resilience. The responses to lockdown policies depend on socioeconomic conditions. Before the pandemic, the population with better socioeconomic conditions shows higher mobility flows. Since the lockdown, mobility presents a general decrease, but the population with worse socioeconomic conditions shows lower decreases in mobility flows. The authors conclude by deriving policy implications.

A preprint of the paper can be accessed here.

All interested participants are welcome to join online at the following link. External participants need to contact the organisers via email to grant access to the seminar.