Can Personal Access to Medical Expertise Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy? / D. Mark Anderson, Ron Diris, Raymond Montizaan, Daniel I. Rees.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anderson, D. Mark.

Contributor:

Diris, Ron.

Montizaan, Raymond.

Rees, Daniel I.

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w35019.

NBER working paper series no. w35019

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2026.

Summary:

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.

Notes:

April 2026.

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