Anatomy of a health scare: education, income and the MMR controversy in the UK

Dan Anderberg, Arnaud Chevalier and Jonathan Wadsworth

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: One theory for why there is an education gradient in health outcomes is that more educated individuals more quickly absorb new health-related information. The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) controversy provides a case where, for a short period, some publicized research suggested that the particular childhood vaccine could have serious side-effects. As the controversy unfolded, uptake of the vaccine by more educated parents decreased relative to that of less educated parents, turning a positive education gradient into a negative one. We also consider the response in terms of uptake of other childhood vaccines and purchases of alternatives to the MMR.

Keywords: Childhood vaccinations; health outcomes; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H42 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53 pages
Date: 2009
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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/28600/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Anatomy of a health scare: Education, income and the MMR controversy in the UK (2011)
Working Paper: Anatomy of a Health Scare: Education, Income and the MMR Controversy in the UK (2009)
Working Paper: Anatomy of a Health Scare: Education, Income and the MMR Controversy in the UK (2008)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:28600

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