Page 5 - IDEA Jak komunikovat Covid19 brezen2020 9
P. 5
4
IDEA anti COVID-19 # 9
How best to communicate with the
public? Findings from behavioural
economics in the fight against Covid-193
MARCH 2020
Vojtěch Bartoš4 Brief summary
During epidemics, communication with the general public is essential. Findings from behavioural economics could help with this.
Public trust in the government and the information it provides is crucial. Trust can be strengthened through transparency and admission of any mistakes made. If the public loses trust, its behaviour becomes unpredictable.
Uncertainty and unclear or untrustworthy information increase pressure on the public. Additional stress is a burden for society.
Regular daily briefings from the government and the crisis committee can prove a good source of information and serve to adjust expectations within society. Waiting to hear what will be announced at an extraordinary press conference leads to unpredictable behaviour among the population.
3 This study represents the author’s own views and not the official position of the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Economics Institute nor of the Charles University Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Education (CERGE). Michal Bauer, Jana Cahlíková, Julie Chytilová, Lubomír Cingl, Libor Dušek, Stefano Fiorin, Ulrich Glogowsky, Johannes Haushofer, Václav Korbel, Yves LeYaoaunq, Johannes Rincke, Silvia Saccardo, Simeon Schudy, Michal Šoltés and Severine Toussaert were swift to react and contribute comments on the working version of this text, for which I am very grateful. Any inaccuracies or errors are the author’s responsibility. This study was produced with support from the Czech Academy of Sciences as part of its AV21 Strategy programme and Experientia Founation.
The author is a lecturer at Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Münich and is currently a visiting scholar at Princeton University in the USA.
3
