We run an experiment to study the effects of Covid-19 lockdown in Italy on preferences for fairness and cooperation. Given the impossibility of having participants in the lab during the lockdown, we adopted an online methodology based on a multi-platform architecture that brings experimental subjects in a “Lab on the Web”. Results from standard Ultimatum and linear Public Good games show that the circumstances in which participants lived the lockdown significantly affect their behavior in the two games. In particular, participants are more selfish in the ultimatum bargaining and contribute more to the public good when social isolation is stronger. However, cooperation decreases when lockdown is longer. We interpret these results as evidence of “social embeddedness” to compensate for “social distancing”.

Laboratory experiments have been often replaced by online experiments in the last decade. This trend has been reinforced when academic and research work based on physical interaction had to be suspended due to restrictions imposed to limit the spread of Covid-19. Therefore, data quality and results from web experiments have become an issue which is currently investigated. Are there significant differences between lab experiments and online findings? We contribute to this debate via an experiment aimed at comparing results from a novel online protocol with traditional laboratory settings, using the same pool of participants. We find that participants in our experiment behave in a similar way across settings and that there are at best weakly significant and quantitatively small differences in behavior observed using our online protocol and physical laboratory setting. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40881-021-00114-8.

Objectives Do people living in more corrupted countries report worse health? We answer this question by investigating the relationship between country-level corruption and the number of chronic diseases for a sample of Europeans aged above 50. Methods We link a rich panel dataset on individual health and socio-demographic characteristics with two country-level corruption indices, analyse the overall relationship with pooled ordinary least squares and fixed-effect models, explore heterogeneous effects driven by country and individual factors, and disentangle the effect across different public sectors. Results Individuals living in more corrupted countries suffer from a higher number of chronic diseases. The heterogeneity analysis shows that (1) health outcomes are worsened especially for respondents living in relatively low-income countries; (2) the health of females and people with poor socioeconomic status is more affected by corruption; (3) the corruptionhealth negative link mainly occurs for cardiovascular diseases and ulcers; (4) only corrupted sectors linked with healthcare are associated with poorer health. Conclusions We inform the policy debate with novel results in establishing a nexus between corruption and morbidity indicators.

Objetivo: estudar de que maneira a população em situação de rua de Joinville-SC - e portadora de transtornos mentais – lida com questões como tratamento do transtorno, uso e abuso de álcool e drogas, e suas experiências em redes de apoio destinadas a elas. Método: Coletou-se depoimentos frente a pergunta inicial: Como você lida com transtornos mentais como: depressão, ansiedade entre outros? Os depoimentos foram transcritos e em sua análise foi utilizada uma abordagem qualitativa, visando a identificar as concepções das participantes como crenças, valores, motivações e atitudes. Resultado: Os resultados foram advindos de 5 participantes (todos homens) que atendiam aos critérios estabelecidos pela pesquisa: portadores de algum transtorno mental com comprovação diagnóstica; com clareza nos depoimentos e que traduziam. Questões relativas a estar deprimido e ir morar na rua, de entender que é doente e não “viciado”, de experiências frustrantes em abrigos destinados a eles e até tentativa de suicido estiveram presentes nos discursos. Conclusão: A saúde mental das pessoas em situação de rua precisa ser mais bem trabalhada por meio da qualificação das redes de apoio existentes para prestação de uma assistência a saúde mental mais efetiva.