The association between socioeconomic status and mobility reductions in the early stage of England's COVID-19 epidemic

This study uses mobile phone data to examine how socioeconomic status was associated with the extent of mobility reduction during the spring 2020 lockdown in England in a manner that considers both potentially confounding effects and spatial dependency and heterogeneity. It shows that socioeconomic status as approximated through income and occupation was strongly correlated with the extent of mobility reduction. It also demonstrates that the specific nature of the association of socioeconomic status with mobility reduction varied markedly across England. Finally, the analysis suggests that the spatial differentiation in the ability to restrict everyday mobility in response to a national lockdown is an important topic for future research.

Automated summary

This study utilized mobile phone data to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status and mobility reduction during the spring 2020 lockdown in England, finding a strong correlation between socioeconomic status (measured by income and occupation) and mobility reduction, with significant regional variations in the specific association. The analysis also highlights the importance of further research on spatial differences in the ability to restrict everyday mobility during a national lockdown.