ECONOMIC AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS IN AN INDIVIDUAL fS DECISION TO GET AN INFLUENZA VACCINATION IN JAPAN

Yoshiro Tsusui (), Uri Benzion and Shosh Shahrabani
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Yoshiro Tsusui: Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University, Japan; CREED, FEB, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Uri Benzion: Department of Economics, Ben Gurion University; Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Western Galilee College, Israel
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Yoshiro Tsutsui ()

No 10-23, Discussion Papers in Economics and Business from Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics

Abstract: This paper investigates how people decide to take influenza vaccination in Japan. Using a large-scale survey, we found that people decide rationally, considering the costs and benefits of vaccination. Specifically, people take into account the probability of infection, severity of the disease, and effectiveness and side effects of vaccination, discounting the future benefits of the vaccination and being affected by risk aversion. In addition, we found that behavioral variables such as altruism and overconfidence are also important. Our survey suggests that dissemination of information on the effectiveness of vaccination may raise the vaccination rate, while information on the probability of infection may have the opposite effect.

Keywords: influenza; inoculation; survey; time preference; Japan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2010-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-neu
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osk:wpaper:1023

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