TY - JOUR
T1 - Socioeconomic reorganization of communication and mobility networks in response to external shocks
AU - Napoli, Ludovico
AU - Sekara, Vedran
AU - García-Herranz, Manuel
AU - Karsai, Márton
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/12/7
Y1 - 2023/12/7
N2 - Socioeconomic segregation patterns in networks usually evolve gradually, yet they can change abruptly in response to external shocks. The recent COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent government policies induced several interruptions in societies, potentially disadvantaging the socioeconomically most vulnerable groups. Using largescale digital behavioral observations as a natural laboratory, here we analyze how lockdown interventions lead to the reorganization of socioeconomic segregation patterns simultaneously in communication and mobility networks in Sierra Leone. We find that while segregation in mobility clearly increased during lockdown, the social communication network reorganized into a less segregated configuration as compared to reference periods. Moreover, due to differences in adaption capacities, the effects of lockdown policies varied across socioeconomic groups, leading to different or even opposite segregation patterns between the lower and higher socioeconomic classes. Such secondary effects of interventions need to be considered for better and more equitable policies.
AB - Socioeconomic segregation patterns in networks usually evolve gradually, yet they can change abruptly in response to external shocks. The recent COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent government policies induced several interruptions in societies, potentially disadvantaging the socioeconomically most vulnerable groups. Using largescale digital behavioral observations as a natural laboratory, here we analyze how lockdown interventions lead to the reorganization of socioeconomic segregation patterns simultaneously in communication and mobility networks in Sierra Leone. We find that while segregation in mobility clearly increased during lockdown, the social communication network reorganized into a less segregated configuration as compared to reference periods. Moreover, due to differences in adaption capacities, the effects of lockdown policies varied across socioeconomic groups, leading to different or even opposite segregation patterns between the lower and higher socioeconomic classes. Such secondary effects of interventions need to be considered for better and more equitable policies.
KW - COVID-19/epidemiology
KW - Humans
KW - Pandemics
KW - Sierra Leone
KW - Social Segregation
KW - Socioeconomic Factors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85179885852&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2305285120
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2305285120
M3 - Article
C2 - 38060564
AN - SCOPUS:85179885852
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 120
SP - e2305285120
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 50
M1 - e2305285120
ER -