Modeling adaptive forward-looking behavior in epidemics on networks

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fard, Lorenzo Amir Nemati, Bisin, Alberto, Starnini, Michele, Tizzoni, Michele
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866929691206615040
author Fard, Lorenzo Amir Nemati
Bisin, Alberto
Starnini, Michele
Tizzoni, Michele
author_facet Fard, Lorenzo Amir Nemati
Bisin, Alberto
Starnini, Michele
Tizzoni, Michele
contents Incorporating decision-making dynamics during an outbreak poses a challenge for epidemiology, faced by several modeling approaches siloed by different disciplines. We propose an epi-economic model where high-frequency choices of individuals respond to the infection dynamics over heterogeneous networks. Maintaining a rational forward-looking component to individual choices, agents follow a behavioral rule-of-thumb in the face of limited perceived forecasting precision in a highly uncertain epidemic environment. We describe the resulting equilibrium behavior of the epidemic by analytical expressions depending on the epidemic conditions. We study existence and welfare of equilibrium, identifying a fundamental negative externality. We also sign analytically the effects of the behavioral rule-of-thumb at different phases of the epidemic and characterize some comparative statics. Through numerical simulations, we contrast different information structures: global awareness -- where individuals only know the prevalence of the disease in the population -- with local awareness, where individuals know the prevalence in their neighborhood. We show that agents' behavioral response through forward-looking choice can flatten the epidemic curve, but local awareness, by triggering highly heterogeneous behavioral responses, more effectively curbs the disease compared to global awareness.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2301_04947
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Modeling adaptive forward-looking behavior in epidemics on networks
Fard, Lorenzo Amir Nemati
Bisin, Alberto
Starnini, Michele
Tizzoni, Michele
Physics and Society
Theoretical Economics
Incorporating decision-making dynamics during an outbreak poses a challenge for epidemiology, faced by several modeling approaches siloed by different disciplines. We propose an epi-economic model where high-frequency choices of individuals respond to the infection dynamics over heterogeneous networks. Maintaining a rational forward-looking component to individual choices, agents follow a behavioral rule-of-thumb in the face of limited perceived forecasting precision in a highly uncertain epidemic environment. We describe the resulting equilibrium behavior of the epidemic by analytical expressions depending on the epidemic conditions. We study existence and welfare of equilibrium, identifying a fundamental negative externality. We also sign analytically the effects of the behavioral rule-of-thumb at different phases of the epidemic and characterize some comparative statics. Through numerical simulations, we contrast different information structures: global awareness -- where individuals only know the prevalence of the disease in the population -- with local awareness, where individuals know the prevalence in their neighborhood. We show that agents' behavioral response through forward-looking choice can flatten the epidemic curve, but local awareness, by triggering highly heterogeneous behavioral responses, more effectively curbs the disease compared to global awareness.
title Modeling adaptive forward-looking behavior in epidemics on networks
topic Physics and Society
Theoretical Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.04947