Mandatory social distancing measures in Brazil: a comparative analysis of state governments’ responses to the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

In the absence of a nationwide social distancing policy in Brazil, state governments played a central role in the adoption and enforcement of these measures, with varying degrees of strictness and effectiveness. This Policy Research Brief presents an assessment and comparison between them, to estimate at least three of their potential impacts: i) impacts on the dynamics of the pandemic in a given geographical area; ii) the extent to which they induced behavioural change in the population; and iii) their socioeconomic impacts.