Can Personal Access to Medical Expertise Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy?

D. Mark Anderson, Ron Diris, Raymond Montizaan and Daniel I. Rees

No 35019, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Using data on applicants to Dutch medical schools and their older relatives (i.e., parents, aunts, and uncles ages 60+), we estimate the effect of personal access to medical expertise on vaccine hesitancy. Leveraging variation in lottery outcomes that determine admission to medical schools, we find that having a physician in the family increases the likelihood of complying with government recommendations that anyone over the age of 59 receive a second booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Our estimated effects are strongest for having a female physician in the family, suggesting important gender-based differences in how medical expertise is communicated.

JEL-codes: D83 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-04
Note: EH
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