Table 10 Physical interaction index component definitions.
From: Lockdown stringency and employment formality: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
Component | Definition | Scoring method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Physical proximity (\({P}_{o}\)) | 1. I don't work near other people (beyond 100 ft.) | O*NET spreads 100 points across five levels per occupation. Our approach multiplies points by their category level and sums to get a score. We sum points in categories 3–5 only to reach a score out of 500 (the maximum feasible score). We rescale this to vary [0; 1] | O*NET |
2. I work with others but not closely (e.g., private office) | |||
3. Slightly close (e.g., shared office) | |||
4. Moderately close (at arm's length) | |||
5. Very close (near touching) | |||
Face-to-face discussions (\({F}_{o}\)) | 1. Never | O*NET spreads 100 points across five levels per occupation. Our approach multiplies points by their category level and sums to get a score. We sum points in categories 4–5 only to reach a score out of 500 (the maximum feasible score). We rescale this to vary [0; 1] | |
2. Once a year or more but not every month | |||
3. Once a month or more but not every week | |||
4. Once a week or more but not every day | |||
5. Every day | |||
Public transport (\({T}_{o}\)) | Ever used any type of public transport to travel to work on a given day | Share per occupation. Varies [0, 1] | StatsSA Time Use Survey 2010 |
Private transport is defined as walking, cycling, or private vehicle | |||
Public transport is defined as bus, taxi, train, or other transport |