IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/mhe/chemon/2024-04.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Information and vaccine hesitancy: The role of broadband Internet

Author

Listed:
  • Sofia Amaral-Garcia

    (European Commission - Joint Research Center, i3health/Universite libre de Bruxelles)

  • Mattia Nardotto

    (ECARES - Universite libre de Bruxelles, CEPR and CESifo)

  • Carol Propper

    (Imperial College London, Monash University, CEPR and IFS)

  • Tommaso Valletti

    (Imperial College London, CEPR and CESifo)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Sofia Amaral-Garcia & Mattia Nardotto & Carol Propper & Tommaso Valletti, 2024. "Information and vaccine hesitancy: The role of broadband Internet," Papers 2024-04, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University.
  • Handle: RePEc:mhe:chemon:2024-04
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://monash-ch-econ-wps.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/RePEc/mhe/chemon/2024-04.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anders Akerman & Ingvil Gaarder & Magne Mogstad, 2015. "The Skill Complementarity of Broadband Internet," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(4), pages 1781-1824.
    2. Vincenzo Galasso & Vincent Pons & Paola Profeta & Michael Becher & Sylvain Brouard & Martial Foucault, 2022. "From Anti-Vax Intentions to Vaccination: Panel and Experimental Evidence from Nine Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series 9564, CESifo.
    3. Bundorf, M. Kate & Chun, Natalie & Goda, Gopi Shah & Kessler, Daniel P., 2009. "Do markets respond to quality information? The case of fertility clinics," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 718-727, May.
    4. Hunt Allcott & Matthew Gentzkow, 2017. "Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election," NBER Working Papers 23089, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Nicholas Bloom & Carol Propper & Stephan Seiler & John Van Reenen, 2015. "The Impact of Competition on Management Quality: Evidence from Public Hospitals," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(2), pages 457-489.
    6. Rajeev K. Goel & James R. Jones & James W. Saunoris, 2023. "Explaining vaccine hesitancy: A COVID‐19 study of the United States," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(2), pages 1073-1087, March.
    7. Benjamin Faber & Rosa Sanchis-Guarner & Felix Weinhardt, 2015. "ICT and Education: Evidence from Student Home Addresses," SERC Discussion Papers 0186, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    8. Anderberg, Dan & Chevalier, Arnaud & Wadsworth, Jonathan, 2011. "Anatomy of a health scare: Education, income and the MMR controversy in the UK," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 515-530, May.
    9. Oliver Falck & Robert Gold & Stephan Heblich, 2014. "E-lections: Voting Behavior and the Internet," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(7), pages 2238-2265, July.
    10. Mattia Nardotto & Tommaso Valletti & Frank Verboven, 2015. "Unbundling The Incumbent: Evidence From Uk Broadband," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 330-362, April.
    11. Geraci, Andrea & Nardotto, Mattia & Reggiani, Tommaso & Sabatini, Fabio, 2022. "Broadband Internet and social capital," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    12. David Dranove & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2010. "Quality Disclosure and Certification: Theory and Practice," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(4), pages 935-963, December.
    13. Bradley Larsen & Marc J. Hetherington & Steven H. Greene & Timothy J. Ryan & Rahsaan D. Maxwell & Steven Tadelis, 2022. "Counter-stereotypical Messaging and Partisan Cues: Moving the Needle on Vaccines in a Polarized U.S," NBER Working Papers 29896, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Sofia Amaral-Garcia & Mattia Nardotto & Carol Propper & Tommaso Valletti, 2022. "Mums Go Online: Is the Internet Changing the Demand for Health Care?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1157-1173, November.
    15. Martin Gaynor & Rodrigo Moreno-Serra & Carol Propper, 2013. "Death by Market Power: Reform, Competition, and Patient Outcomes in the National Health Service," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 134-166, November.
    16. Jeffrey R. Brown & Austan Goolsbee, 2002. "Does the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(3), pages 481-507, June.
    17. David Dranove & Daniel Kessler & Mark McClellan & Mark Satterthwaite, 2003. "Is More Information Better? The Effects of "Report Cards" on Health Care Providers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 555-588, June.
    18. Francesco C. Billari & Osea Giuntella & Luca Stella, 2019. "Does broadband Internet affect fertility?," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 73(3), pages 297-316, September.
    19. Fiona Morton & Florian Zettelmeyer & Jorge Silva-Risso, 2003. "Consumer Information and Discrimination: Does the Internet Affect the Pricing of New Cars to Women and Minorities?," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 65-92, March.
    20. Manudeep Bhuller & Tarjei Havnes & Edwin Leuven & Magne Mogstad, 2013. "Broadband Internet: An Information Superhighway to Sex Crime?," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 80(4), pages 1237-1266.
    21. Donati, Dante & Durante, Ruben & Sobbrio, Francesco & Zejcirovic, Dijana, 2022. "Lost in the Net? Broadband Internet and Youth Mental Health," IZA Discussion Papers 15202, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Yaqub, Ohid & Castle-Clarke, Sophie & Sevdalis, Nick & Chataway, Joanna, 2014. "Attitudes to vaccination: A critical review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1-11.
    23. Vincenzo Carrieri & Leonardo Madio & Francesco Principe, 2019. "Vaccine hesitancy and (fake) news: Quasi‐experimental evidence from Italy," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(11), pages 1377-1382, November.
    24. Hunt Allcott & Matthew Gentzkow, 2017. "Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(2), pages 211-236, Spring.
    25. Alessandro Gavazza & Mattia Nardotto & Tommaso Valletti, 2019. "Internet and Politics: Evidence from U.K. Local Elections and Local Government Policies," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(5), pages 2092-2135.
    26. Gutacker, Nils & Siciliani, Luigi & Moscelli, Giuseppe & Gravelle, Hugh, 2016. "Choice of hospital: Which type of quality matters?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 230-246.
    27. Chou, Shin-Yi & Deily, Mary E. & Li, Suhui & Lu, Yi, 2014. "Competition and the impact of online hospital report cards," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 42-58.
    28. Michael DiNardi & Melanie Guldi & David Simon, 2019. "Body weight and Internet access: evidence from the rollout of broadband providers," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 877-913, July.
    29. Dranove, David & Sfekas, Andrew, 2008. "Start spreading the news: A structural estimate of the effects of New York hospital report cards," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1201-1207, September.
    30. Martin Gaynor & Carol Propper & Stephan Seiler, 2016. "Free to Choose? Reform, Choice, and Consideration Sets in the English National Health Service," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(11), pages 3521-3557, November.
    31. Ran Spiegler, 2006. "The Market for Quacks," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(4), pages 1113-1131.
    32. Michael Bailey & Drew Johnston & Martin Koenen & Theresa Kuchler & Dominic Russel & Johannes Stroebel, 2024. "Social Networks Shape Beliefs and Behavior: Evidence from Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(3), pages 463-494.
    33. Lenisa V. Chang, 2018. "Information, education, and health behaviors: Evidence from the MMR vaccine autism controversy," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 1043-1062, July.
    34. Goldfarb, Avi & Prince, Jeff, 2008. "Internet adoption and usage patterns are different: Implications for the digital divide," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 2-15, March.
    35. Rajeev K. Goel & Michael A. Nelson, 2021. "COVID-19 internet vaccination information and vaccine administration: evidence from the United States," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 45(4), pages 716-734, October.
    36. Lesley Chiou & Catherine Tucker, 2018. "Fake News and Advertising on Social Media: A Study of the Anti-Vaccination Movement," NBER Working Papers 25223, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    37. Charles E. Phelps, 1992. "Diffusion of Information in Medical Care," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 23-42, Summer.
    38. Mengcen Qian & Shin-Yi Chou & Ernest K. Lai, 2020. "Confirmatory Bias in Health Decisions: Evidence from the MMR-Autism Controversy," NBER Working Papers 26772, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sofia Amaral-Garcia & Mattia Nardotto & Carol Propper & Tommaso Valletti, 2022. "Mums Go Online: Is the Internet Changing the Demand for Health Care?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1157-1173, November.
    2. Geraci, Andrea & Nardotto, Mattia & Reggiani, Tommaso & Sabatini, Fabio, 2022. "Broadband Internet and social capital," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    3. Sabatini, Fabio, 2023. "The Behavioral, Economic, and Political Impact of the Internet and Social Media: Empirical Challenges and Approaches," IZA Discussion Papers 16703, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Rosa Sanchis-Guarner & José Montalbán & Felix Weinhardt, 2021. "Home Broadband and Human Capital Formation," CESifo Working Paper Series 8846, CESifo.
    5. Van Parys, Jessica & Brown, Zach Y., 2024. "Broadband Internet access and health outcomes: Patient and provider responses in Medicare," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    6. MERADEE, Tangvatcharapong, 2024. "The Impact of Vaccine Misinformation : Evidence from the US," CEI Working Paper Series 2023-07, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    7. Cariolle, Joël & Elkhateeb, Yasmine & Maurel, Mathilde, 2024. "Misinformation technology: Internet use and political misperceptions in Africa," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 400-433.
    8. Arthur Juet, 2023. "The Online Vaccination Debate : The Case of France," Working Papers hal-04053614, HAL.
    9. Martin Gaynor & Kate Ho & Robert J. Town, 2015. "The Industrial Organization of Health-Care Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(2), pages 235-284, June.
    10. Avdic, Daniel & Moscelli, Giuseppe & Pilny, Adam & Sriubaite, Ieva, 2019. "Subjective and objective quality and choice of hospital: Evidence from maternal care services in Germany," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    11. Nie, Peng & Peng, Xu & Luo, Tianyuan, 2023. "Internet use and fertility behavior among reproductive-age women in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    12. Leopoldo Fergusson & Carlos Molina, 2020. "Facebook Causes Protests," HiCN Working Papers 323, Households in Conflict Network.
    13. Giulietti, Corrado & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Zenou, Yves, 2021. "When Reality Bites: Local Deaths and Vaccine Take-Up," GLO Discussion Paper Series 999, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Billari, Francesco C. & Giuntella, Osea & Stella, Luca, 2018. "Broadband internet, digital temptations, and sleep," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 58-76.
    15. Moscone, Francesco & Siciliani, Luigi & Tosetti, Elisa & Vittadini, Giorgio, 2020. "Do public and private hospitals differ in quality? Evidence from Italy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Joël Cariolle & Yasmine Elkhateeb & Mathilde Maurel, 2022. "(Mis-)information technology: Internet use and perception of democracy in Africa," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 22010, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    17. Gabriel Ahlfeldt & Pantelis Koutroumpis & Tommaso Valletti, 2017. "Speed 2.0: Evaluating Access to Universal Digital Highways," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 586-625.
    18. Donati, Dante, 2023. "Mobile Internet access and political outcomes: Evidence from South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    19. Cambini, Carlo & Sabatino, Lorien & Zaccagni, Sarah, 2024. "The faster the better? Advanced internet access and student performance," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8).
    20. Briglauer, Wolfgang & Dürr, Niklas S. & Falck, Oliver & Hüschelrath, Kai, 2019. "Does state aid for broadband deployment in rural areas close the digital and economic divide?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 68-85.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internet access; Vaccines; Child health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:mhe:chemon:2024-04. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Johannes Kunz (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dxmonau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.