Experimental evidence on the effectiveness of non-experts for improving vaccine demand

Author / Creator

Alsan, Marcella, author

Available as

Online

Summary

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 e...

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 (non-expert concordant senders) are most effective at promoting vaccination, particularly among those least willing to become vaccinated. This finding points to a tradeoff between the higher qualifications of experts on the one hand, but lower social proximity to lowsocio-economic status populations on the other hand, which may undermine credibility in settings of low trust.

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