Work

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

Year: 2024

Type: article

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.

Source: European Economic Review

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2024.104818

Authors: Mustafa Kaba, Murat Koyuncu, Sebastian O. Schneider, Matthias Sutter

Institutions: Koç University, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics, Boğaziçi University, University of Cologne, Universität Innsbruck

Language: English

Topic: Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,170