The Tragedy of the Masks: Curbing Stockpiling Behavior through a “Victim” Available to Purchase

The phenomenon of household products disappearing from supermarket shelves after the COVID-19 outbreak has garnered strong attention in the media. After a negative shock, household products can be viewed as a common-pool resource subject to a rule of capture by the first appropriators. Using a sample of US participants surveyed in the aftermath of the pandemic declaration, we show that participants often coordinate on an egalitarian allocation of masks when informed that a fixed supply of facial masks exists. In another study, we manipulated group composition to include an older adult, drawing attention to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on older individuals. In this study, participants 24 or younger demand significantly fewer masks than those 65 or older, without any detectable increase in miscoordination. The results of two unannounced iterations of the same game demonstrate that the victim effect attenuates over time, and the two age groups converge toward the egalitarian allocation of masks. We also report that an incentivized group of external observers deems a prudentially low demand for masks appropriate in this environment. We conclude that providing information about vulnerabilities in the population can play a vital role in tempering anti-social behaviors following a disruptive event.