The Cost of Privacy: Welfare Effects of the Disclosure of COVID-19 Cases
David Argente, Chang‐Tai Hsieh, Munseob Lee
Abstract
Abstract South Korea publicly disclosed detailed location information of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. We quantify the effect of public disclosure on the transmission of the virus and economic losses in Seoul. The change in commuting patterns due to public disclosure lowers the number of cases by 60,000 and the number of deaths by 2,000 in Seoul over two years. Compared to a city-wide lockdown that results in the same number of cases over two years as the disclosure scenario, the economic cost of such a lockdown is almost four times higher.
Topics & Concepts
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)WelfareSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Public disclosure2019-20 coronavirus outbreakTransmission (telecommunications)BusinessDemographic economicsEconomicsActuarial sciencePublic economicsMedicineComputer scienceVirologyTelecommunicationsMechanical engineeringEngineeringInfectious disease (medical specialty)PathologyOutbreakMarket economyDiseaseCOVID-19 epidemiological studiesCOVID-19 Pandemic ImpactsIncome, Poverty, and Inequality