Information and vaccine hesitancy: The role of broadband Internet

Sofia Amaral-Garcia (), Mattia Nardotto (), Carol Propper and Tommaso Valletti
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Sofia Amaral-Garcia: European Commission - Joint Research Center, i3health/Universite libre de Bruxelles
Mattia Nardotto: ECARES - Universite libre de Bruxelles, CEPR and CESifo

No 2024-04, Working Papers from Centre for Health Economics, Monash University

Abstract: We examine the effect of internet diffusion on the uptake of an important public health inter- vention: the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. We study England between 2000 and 2011 when internet diffusion spread rapidly and there was a high profile medical article (falsely) linking the MMR vaccine to autism. OLS estimates suggest internet diffusion led to an increase in vaccination rates. This result is reversed after allowing for endogeneity of internet access. The effect of internet diffusion is sizable. A one standard deviation increase in internet penetration led to around a 20% decrease in vaccination rates. Localities characterised by higher proportions of high skilled individuals and lower deprivation levels had a larger re- sponse to internet diffusion. These findings are consistent with higher skilled and less deprived parents responding faster to false information that the vaccine could lead to autism.

Keywords: Internet access; Vaccines; Child health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-ict
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Related works:
Journal Article: Information and vaccine hesitancy: The role of broadband Internet (2024)
Working Paper: Information and Vaccine Hesitancy: The Role of Broadband Internet (2024)
Working Paper: Information and vaccine hesitancy: The role of broadband Internet (2024)
Working Paper: Information and vaccine hesitancy: the role of broadband Internet (2023)
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