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Social norms, political polarization, and vaccination attitudes: Evidence from a survey experiment in Turkey

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  • Kaba, Mustafa
  • Koyuncu, Murat
  • Schneider, Sebastian O.
  • Sutter, Matthias

Abstract

This paper examines vaccination as a descriptive social norm in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Using a large-scale survey experiment in Turkey, we first elicit respondents’ vaccination attitudes and show that political affiliation is a strong predictor of it. We then use economic games to measure the extent of outgroup discrimination induced by respondents’ attitudes towards vaccination. We find that while both pro- and anti-vaxxers discriminate against each other substantially, the pro-vaxxers discriminate more than the anti-vaxxers do. This polarization intensifies when pro- and anti-vaxxers perceive a political difference between them. Using randomized informational treatments, we show that a reminder or priming of external threats, appealing to a broadly shared social identity, might mitigate such outgroup discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaba, Mustafa & Koyuncu, Murat & Schneider, Sebastian O. & Sutter, Matthias, 2024. "Social norms, political polarization, and vaccination attitudes: Evidence from a survey experiment in Turkey," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:168:y:2024:i:c:s0014292124001478
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2024.104818
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social norms; Outgroup discrimination; Polarization; Vaccination attitudes; Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics

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