Details

Subject(s)

• Communicable diseases [Browse]

Series

Policy research working papers. [More in this series]

Summary note

Did increases in mask supply slow the spread of COVID-19 Rwanda licensed and incentivized textile manufacturers to produce high-quality masks at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper exploits spatial variation in exposure to mask manufacturing through textile trade networks within an event-study design using receipt-level tax data. Licensing domestic mask manufacturers conservatively reduced mask prices by 8.8% and reduced monthly growth in COVID-19 infections (proxied by demand for anti-fever medicine) by 12%. The dynamics of the results suggest that increased mask quality explains reduced infections, in a context where there was strict enforcement of mask mandates and informal markets for masks.

Source of description

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other title(s)

Few Good Masks

Other standard number

• 10.1596/1813-9450-9993

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