New research suggests that following public health guidance is good business To slow the spread of COVID-19 for the past year, public health experts have urged people to wear masks and practice social distancing. But in the United States, many people have ignored those recommendations, and some businesses haven’t enforced them for fear of public backlash. However, most Americans across the political spectrum prefer businesses that enforce mask wearing and would pay extra to be in such an environment, according to new research from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. In a recent working paper, Prof. Oleg Urminsky and research professional Abigail Bergman, AM’19, examine a series of experiments they conducted with thousands of participants. Their results suggest that consumers and business managers have tended to underestimate other people’s desire for stricter public health measures.