Correcting COVID-19 Risk Misperceptions via Information Provision

Abstract

We conducted an information provision experiment in April 2023 in Japan to investigate how different types of information affect people’s subjective assessment of COVID-19 related risks. The majority of respondents overestimate infection and fatality risks. Recent infection-related statistics lower risk perceptions if presented in percentage, but do not lower them if presented in levels. Providing pessimistic outlooks raises risk perceptions. We also find substantial heterogeneity in the response to information provision across various individual characteristics, such as age, gender, education, marital status, health status, COVID-19-related experiences, and vaccination status.