Partisan Differences in Social Distancing Response to COVID-19 in the United States

This paper intends to analyze if political beliefs influence the effectiveness of shelter-in-place policies, which intend to slow the transmission of COVID-19 in the United States. I use the geolocation mobility data as an estimate to document people’s compliance with the social distancing orders. People in Democratic and Republican counties tend to perform differently under the restriction of government policies. My research results indicate that residents in Democratic counties are more willing to follow the state-issued stay-at-home orders compared to those in Republican counties. When the strictness of lockdown policies increases, people are more likely to comply and reduce their mobility. When considering political differences, I find that Republican-leaning counties decrease compliance more than Democratic-leaning counties as the restriction policies become stricter. My study demonstrates that how partisanship affects the public response to government policies. Policymakers should take these results into account and be aware of the impact of political polarization.