COVID-19 vaccine and risk-taking

Shanike J. Smart () and Solomon Polachek
Additional contact information
Shanike J. Smart: State University of New York at Binghamton

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 2024, vol. 68, issue 1, No 2, 25-49

Abstract: Abstract We assess whether the COVID-19 vaccine induces COVID-19 risky behavior (e.g., going to bars and restaurants) and thus reduces vaccine efficacy. A key empirical challenge is the endogeneity bias when comparing risk-taking by vaccination status since people choose whether to get vaccinated. To address this bias, we exploit rich survey panel data on individuals followed before and after vaccine availability over fourteen months in an event study fixed effects model with individual, time, sector, and county-by-time fixed effects and inverse propensity weights. We find evidence that vaccinated persons, regardless of the timing of vaccination, increase their risk-taking activities. The evidence is consistent with the “lulling effect”. While vaccine availability may reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19, it also contributes to further spread of the virus by incentivizing risk-taking in the short term.

Keywords: COVID-19; Risk-taking; Vaccine; Lulling effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I12 I13 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11166-023-09424-0 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
Working Paper: COVID-19 Vaccine and Risk-Taking (2024)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jrisku:v:68:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s11166-023-09424-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ry/journal/11166/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s11166-023-09424-0

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty is currently edited by W. Kip Viscusi

More articles in Journal of Risk and Uncertainty from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().