Exploring Factors that Influence Citizens’ Voluntary Quarantine Compliance about Future Pandemics

Abstract

To cope with pressing challenges posed by a pandemic, governments cannot merely rely on coercive power; rather, governments must know why and why not citizens voluntarily comply with policy measures. Building on previous research, this study examines the drivers of citizens’ voluntary quarantine compliance from two perspectives: citizens’ perceptions of risks and citizens’ perceptions of government. We find that citizens’ perceived risks significantly drive their voluntary quarantine compliance about a future pandemic. However, as for citizens’ perceptions of government, only citizens’ trust in government authority and trust in government responsiveness are positively related to their voluntary quarantine compliance. Government transparency is not positively related to citizens’ voluntary quarantine compliance. Based on the results, we conclude that governments can facilitate citizens’ voluntary quarantine compliance by lowering citizens’ compliance costs, justifying their authority actions, highlighting their rapid efforts to fight pandemics, and preventing media exaggeration.