Abstract: Relying on a unique survey of more than 15,000 respondents conducted from June to August 2020 in Italy, we show that priming religiosity in healthcare workers decreases the level of self‐assessed mental distress experienced during the first wave of the COVID‐19. We show that priming religiosity decreasesself‐assessed mental distress by 9.5%. Consistent with the idea that religiosity serves as a coping mechanism, this effect is stronger for the more impacted categories (e.g., hospital workers) and for respondents facing more stressful situations, such as being reassigned due to the COVID‐19 emergency or working in a COVID‐19‐related specialty (e.g., emergency care), among others. Moreover, higher effects occurs also among physicians who self‐classify as religious, while this distinction does not apply for nurses.
On Monday, July 19 2021, 16:00 - 17:30, Amelie Wuppermann (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg) will present:
The Toll of Voting in a Pandemic? Municipal Elections and the Spread of COVID-19 in Bavaria
This study investigates whether the municipal elections that were held on March 15, 2020 in Bavaria -- shortly after the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic -- contributed to the spread of COVID-19 cases and COVID-related deaths in this German state. Constructing synthetic controls for each of Bavaria's 96 districts based on the other German districts, we find that about 86 per 100,000 -- over a third of the increase in positive test results between March 15 and April 4 in Bavaria -- cannot be explained by district-level demographic, economic, health or child care characteristics, nor by the distance to Ischgl. Furthermore, within Bavaria, districts with higher voter participation had a higher increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths after the election, even when holding other drivers of the spread of the virus, such as distance to Ischgl and strong-beer festivals constant. Our results are highly robust and suggest that elections can be spreaders of infectious diseases. They call for future research to investigate the role of elections for the spread of infectious diseases.
Room: Due to the current situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the talk will be held in a virtual seminar room. For more information click here.
On Monday, July 12 2021, 16:00 - 17:30, Marisa Miraldo (Imperial College) will present:
Innovation Diffusion and Physician Networks: Keyhole Surgery for Cancer in the English NHS
We examine the effect of a physician network on medical innovation using novel matched patient-physician-hospital panel data. The data include every relevant physician and all patients in the English NHS for 15 years and physicians’ workplace histories for more than 20. The dynamic network arising from physician mobility between hospitals over time allows us to separate unobserved physician and hospital heterogeneity from the effect of the network. We build on standard peer-effects models by adding cumulative peer behaviour and allow for particularly influential physicians (‘key players’), whose identities we estimate. We find positive effects of peer innovation take-up, number of peers, and proximity in the network to both pioneers of the innovation and key players. Counterfactual estimates suggest that early intervention targeting young, connected physicians with early take-up can significantly increase aggregate take-up.
Room: Due to the current situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the talk will be held in a virtual seminar room. For more information click here.
