{
  "abstract": "Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, policy makers used mask mandates as a tool to signal that, due to the amount of virus circulating at the time, social behaviors might be risky. Because of the geographically specific nature of disease transmission information, these signals would be more informative in smaller geographic units. The objective of this study was to estimate the impact of policy information revelation by quantifying the impact of state versus county mask mandates on economic activity. Methods: We constructed a longitudinal dataset of US counties from April to September 2020 including the period immediately surrounding a COVID-19 mask mandate policy. In our primary analysis, we used a regression discontinuity approach with economic activity measured as county-level cell phone mobility and credit card spending. Results: We found that state mask mandates were associated with an increase in economic activity (coefficient = 1.045, 95% CI: 0.44,1.65) and spending per person (coefficient = $143, 95% CI: $102, $185). On the other hand, we found no statistically significant effects following county mask mandates. Conclusion: Using variation in the level of government enacting a policy, we find that mobility and spending are higher after a US state mask mandate than a county mandate, consistent with information revelation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Finance, Northeastern University, Massachusetts, United States of America",
    "School of Accounting, University of Utah, Utah, United States of America",
    "Department of Pharmacotherapy, University of Utah, Utah, United States of America",
    "Department of Economics, Allegheny College, Pennsylvania, United States of America",
    "Department of Economics, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States of America",
    "IDEAS Center, Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, United States of America",
    "Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah, Utah, United States of America"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nathan Seegert"
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    {
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        1
      ],
      "name": "Maclean Gaulin"
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    {
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        2
      ],
      "name": "Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Francisco Navarro-Sanchez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Danielle Nguyen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Mu-Jeung Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Richard E. Nelson"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4xw8rzap2nram.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0332243",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4xw8rzap2nram",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332243",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2611|COVID-19 epidemiological studies"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Equipment/Communication equipment/Cell phones"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Diagnostic medicine/Virus testing"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Medical risk factors"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Pandemics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Health economics"
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Viral diseases/COVID 19"
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      "/Physical sciences/Mathematics/Algebra/Polynomials"
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    [
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      "/Social sciences/Economics/Health economics"
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      "/Social sciences/Political science/Governments"
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  "openalex": "W7207727967",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0332243&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-03",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4xw8rzap2nram.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0332243",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332243"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "mathematics",
      "origin": "plos:algebra",
      "subfield": "algebra-number-theory"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:epidemiology",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:infectious diseases",
      "subfield": "infectious-disease"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The impact of state- versus county-level mask mandates on economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic",
  "title_text": "The impact of state- versus county-level mask mandates on economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4xw8rzap2nram",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}