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Default options: a powerful behavioral tool to increase COVID-19 contact tracing app acceptance in Latin America?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2021

Cynthia Boruchowicz ,
Florencia Lopez Boo ,
Benjamin Roseth  and
Luis Tejerina
Cynthia Boruchowicz*
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Florencia Lopez Boo
Affiliation:
Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, USA
Benjamin Roseth
Affiliation:
Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, USA
Luis Tejerina
Affiliation:
Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, USA
*
*Corresponding to: E-mail: cynthiab@umd.edu
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Abstract

Given the rates of transmission of COVID-19, relying only on manual contact tracing might be infeasible to control the epidemic without sustained costly lockdowns or rapid vaccination efforts. In the first study of its kind in Latin America, we find through a phone survey of a nationally representative sample of ten countries that an opt-out regime (automatic installation) increases self-reported intention to accept a contact tracing app with exposure notification by 22 percentage points compared to an opt-in regime (voluntary installation). This effect is triple the size and of opposite sign of the effect found in Europe and the United States, potentially due to lower concerns regarding privacy and lower levels of interpersonal trust. We see that an opt-out regime is more effective in increasing willingness to accept for those who do not trust the government or do not use their smartphones for financial transactions. The local severity of the pandemic does not affect our results, but feeling personally at risk increases intent to accept such apps in general. These results can shed light on the use of default options not only for contact tracing apps but in public health overall in the context of a pandemic in Latin America.

Keywords

contact tracing appsLatin Americadefault optionstrustCOVID-19D12D91I12I18
Type
Article
Information
Behavioural Public Policy , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , July 2023 , pp. 662 - 678
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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