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Experimental Evidence on the Effectiveness of Nonexperts for Improving Vaccine Demand

  • Marcella Alsan
  • Sarah Eichmeyer
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 16, no. 1, February 2024
(pp. 394-414)
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Abstract

We experimentally vary signals and senders to identify which combination will increase vaccine demand among a disadvantaged population in the United States—Black and White men without a college education. Our main finding is that laypeople (nonexpert concordant senders) are most effective at promoting vaccination, particularly among those least willing to become vaccinated. This finding points to a trade-off between the higher qualifications of experts on the one hand and the lower social proximity to low-socioeconomic-status populations on the other hand, which may undermine credibility in settings of low trust.

Citation

Alsan, Marcella, and Sarah Eichmeyer. 2024. "Experimental Evidence on the Effectiveness of Nonexperts for Improving Vaccine Demand." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 16 (1): 394-414. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20210393

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D82 Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
  • H51 National Government Expenditures and Health
  • I11 Analysis of Health Care Markets
  • I12 Health Behavior
  • I14 Health and Inequality
  • J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
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