![]() ![]() In this study, we focus on these two dates and events to analyze how the restrictions affected individual mobility in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and how the characteristics of local labour markets, e.g., ability to WFH, are related to the evolution of local mobility patterns after the restrictions were lifted. This brief account of the events allows us to spot two relevant dates: on March 8, the national authorities unexpectedly decided to impose highly localized restrictions on individual movements that started the following day, thereby affecting local mobility patterns on top and above what was happening in the rest of the country on June 3, nationwide mobility restrictions were lifted, creating the opportunity for people to move freely. Individual mobility increased on average to the pre-lockdown levels but followed differentiated patterns that characterize a ‘new normal’. Individual mobility across regions was permitted again on June 3, when the nationwide restrictions were removed. Nationwide restrictive measures remained in force until May 4, when they started being progressively removed. In parallel, the authorities started facilitating work-from-home (WFH) practices by waiving existing laws and collective agreements that limited WFH. On March 8, severe mobility restrictions were imposed on 14 provinces and one region in the Centre-North two days later, these measures were extended to the entire country and were progressively strengthened through the suspension of most economic activities, but for the so-called essential sectors exempted from the ban. Soft recommendations to ‘stay-at-home’ were transformed into legally binding orders and lockdown restrictions enforced via civil and criminal law measures. ![]() Areas with a higher proportion of professions exposed to diseases, more suitable for flexible work arrangements, and with a higher share of fixed-term contracts before the pandemic are characterised by a smaller increase in mobility after re-opening.įacing the outbreak and diffusion of COVID-19, Italy was the first European country to announce and implement in early March 2020 severe limits on travelling and individual mobility with the aim of slowing down the contagion. The study also fills a gap in the literature in that it looks at the changes in mobility after the nationwide restrictions were lifted and shows how the recovery in mobility patterns is related to various characteristics of local labour markets. Results show that these measures lowered individual mobility by 7 percentage points on top of the reduction in mobility recorded in the adjacent untreated areas. Looking at these watershed moments of the pandemic, this paper explores the impact of the adoption of localized restrictions on changes in individual mobility in Italy using a spatial discontinuity approach. Additional nationwide measures were imposed after one day, and were removed only after June 3. The first measures imposed by the central authorities on March 8, 2020, were unanticipated and highly localized, focusing on 26 provinces. Italy was among the first countries to introduce drastic measures to reduce individual mobility in order to slow the diffusion of COVID-19. ![]()
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