Effectiveness of vaccination recommendations versus mandates: Evidence from the hepatitis A vaccine

Emily C. Lawler

Journal of Health Economics, 2017, vol. 52, issue C, 45-62

Abstract: I provide novel evidence on the effectiveness of two vaccination policies – simple non-binding recommendations to vaccinate versus mandates requiring vaccination prior to childcare or kindergarten attendance – in the context of the only disease whose institutional features permit a credible examination of both: hepatitis A. Using provider-verified immunization data I find that recommendations significantly increased hepatitis A vaccination rates among young children by at least 20 percentage points, while mandates increase rates by another 8 percentage points. These policies also significantly reduced population hepatitis A incidence. My results suggest a range of policy options for addressing suboptimally low population vaccination rates.

Keywords: State mandates; Hepatitis A; Difference-in-differences; Vaccination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H75 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (34)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:52:y:2017:i:c:p:45-62

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.01.002

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