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The Impact of Large-Scale Social Media Advertising Campaigns on COVID-19 Vaccination: Evidence from Two Randomized Controlled Trials

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa Ho
  • Emily Breza
  • Abhijit Banerjee
  • Arun G. Chandrasekhar
  • Fatima C. Stanford
  • Renato Fior
  • Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham
  • Kelly Holland
  • Emily Hoppe
  • Louis- Maël Jean
  • Lucy Ogbu-Nwobodo
  • Benjamin A. Olken
  • Carlos Torres
  • Pierre-Luc Vautrey
  • Erica Warner
  • Esther Duflo
  • Marcella Alsan

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in wealthy countries, yet many remain unvaccinated. We report on two studies (United States and France) with millions of Facebook users that tested two strategies central to vaccination outreach: health professionals addressing common concerns and motivating "ambassadors" to encourage vaccination in their social networks. We can reject very small effects of any intervention on new first doses (0.16 pp, United States; 0.021 pp, France), with similar results for second doses and boosters (United States). During the Omicron wave, messaging aimed at the unvaccinated or those tasked with encouraging others did not change vaccination decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa Ho & Emily Breza & Abhijit Banerjee & Arun G. Chandrasekhar & Fatima C. Stanford & Renato Fior & Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham & Kelly Holland & Emily Hoppe & Louis- Maël Jean & Lucy Ogbu-Nwobodo & Benj, 2023. "The Impact of Large-Scale Social Media Advertising Campaigns on COVID-19 Vaccination: Evidence from Two Randomized Controlled Trials," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 113, pages 653-658, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:113:y:2023:p:653-58
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231112
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vivi Alatas & Arun G. Chandrasekhar & Markus Mobius & Benjamin A. Olken & Cindy Paladines, 2019. "When Celebrities Speak: A Nationwide Twitter Experiment Promoting Vaccination In Indonesia," NBER Working Papers 25589, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Alexandre Belloni & Victor Chernozhukov & Christian Hansen, 2014. "Inference on Treatment Effects after Selection among High-Dimensional Controlsâ€," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(2), pages 608-650.
    3. Marcella Alsan & Sarah Eichmeyer, 2024. "Experimental Evidence on the Effectiveness of Nonexperts for Improving Vaccine Demand," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 394-414, February.
    4. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    5. Abhijit Banerjee & Arun G Chandrasekhar & Esther Duflo & Matthew O Jackson, 2019. "Using Gossips to Spread Information: Theory and Evidence from Two Randomized Controlled Trials," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(6), pages 2453-2490.
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    Cited by:

    1. Islam, Asad & Kusnadi, Gita & Rezki, Jahen & Sim, Armand & van Empel, Giovanni & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Zenou, Yves, 2023. "Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy Using Local Ambassadors: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Indonesia," IZA Discussion Papers 15899, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • M37 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Advertising

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