Experimental Evidence on the Effectiveness of Non-Experts for Improving Vaccine Demand

Abstract

We experimentally vary signals and senders to identify which combination will increase vaccine demand among a disadvantaged population in the United States – Black and White men without a college education. Our main finding is that laypeople (non-expert concordant senders) are most effective at promoting vaccination, particularly among those least willing to become vaccinated. This finding points to a tradeoff between the higher qualifications of experts on the one hand, but lower social proximity to lowsocio-economic status populations on the other hand, which may undermine credibility in settings of low trust.