Black Lives Matter Protests and Risk Avoidance: The Case of Civil Unrest during a Pandemic

Dhaval Dave; Andrew Friedson; Kyutaro Matsuzawa; Joseph J. Sabia; Samuel Safford

doi:10.3368/jhr.0121-11463R1

Abstract

This study examines the impacts of summer 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests on risk-avoidance behaviors. Using daily anonymized smartphone data on social mobility and an event-study approach, we find that net stay-at-home behavior increased following protest onset. This result is consistent with avoidance behaviors in response to perceived risk of COVID-19 infection and protest-related violence. Furthermore, we find that BLM protests reduced local activities that were potentially riskier for infection than outdoor protests: restaurant and bar-going and retail shopping. We conclude that risk-avoidance behaviors help to explain why BLM protests did not lead to local COVID-19 spread.

JEL Classification:

Received January 2021.
Accepted August 2022.

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