  On 11th Jan 2020, the first COVID-19 related death was confirmed in Wuhan,
Hubei. The Chinese government responded to the outbreak with a lockdown that
impacted most residents of Hubei province and lasted for almost three months.
At the time, the lockdown was the strictest both within China and worldwide.
Using an interactive web-based experiment conducted half a year after the
lockdown with participants from 11 Chinese provinces, we investigate the
behavioral effects of this `shock' event experienced by the population of
Hubei. We find that both one's place of residence and the strictness of
lockdown measures in their province are robust predictors of individual social
distancing behavior. Further, we observe that informational messages are
effective at increasing compliance with social distancing throughout China,
whereas fines for noncompliance work better within Hubei province relative to
the rest of the country. We also report that residents of Hubei increase their
propensity to social distance when exposed to social environments characterized
by the presence of a superspreader, while the effect is not present outside of
the province. Our results appear to be specific to the context of COVID-19, and
are not explained by general differences in risk attitudes and social
preferences.

General Economics;Economics