BEHAVIOR ELASTICITY CHART SHOWING BEHAVIORAL CHANGES CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC – QUANTIFICATION OF RETURN AND NON-RETURN TO PRE-PANDEMIC STATE –

Abstract

 The first state of emergency in Japan was declared in April 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that period, behavioral changes occurred in various activities. The mode of return to the pre-pandemic state after the declaration was lifted was regarded as different for each activity and attribute. In this paper, we proposed a behavior elasticity chart, which enables quantitative comparison of the patterns of changes among activities and attributes to capture the pure response, including the return to the pre-pandemic state, when people first undertook voluntary restraint. The charts were created based on diary data for three cross-sections: before the pandemic, during, and after the declaration. Then we ascertained differences in the patterns of changes by city type and occupation. Results show that 1) telecommuting rates of residents of the three major metropolitan areas and office workers remained higher than before the pandemic, and 2) the rate of automobile travel was higher after the declaration was lifted than it was before the pandemic. This trend was more prominent among residents of the three major metropolitan areas and unemployed people.