Psychic vs. Economic Barriers to Vaccine Take-up: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Nigeria

Type Report
Title Psychic vs. Economic Barriers to Vaccine Take-up: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Nigeria
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2015
URL http://www.cirje.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp/research/dp/2015/2015cf983.pdf
Abstract
This paper evaluates the relative importance of psychic costs of vaccination compared
to monetary costs through a field experiment that randomizes several factors affecting
tetanus vaccine take-up among women in rural Nigeria. Although conventional wisdom
highlights the relevance of psychic costs, we find no evidence that psychic costs limit vaccine
take-up. Of the women who were incentivized just to show up at a clinic unconditional
on vaccine take-up, 95.7 percent chose to get vaccinated anyway. Priming about disease
severity increases the perceived severity of disease, but not vaccine take-up. Rather than
psychic costs, monetary costs are major barriers to vaccination.

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