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The social value of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine: willingness to pay estimates from four Western countries

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  • Costa-Font, Joan
  • Harrison, S.
  • Rudisill, C.
  • Salmasi, L.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines give rise to positive externalities on population health, society and the economy in addition to protecting the health of vaccinated individuals. Hence, the social value of such a vaccine exceeds its market value. This paper estimates the willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (or shadow prices), in four countries, namely the United States (US), the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy during the first wave of the pandemic when COVID-19 vaccines were in development but not yet approved. WTP estimates are elicited using a payment card method to avoid “yea saying” biases, and we study the effect of protest responses, sample selection bias, as well as the influence of trust in government and risk exposure when estimating the WTP. Our estimates suggest evidence of an average value of a hypothetical vaccine of 100–200 US dollars once adjusted for purchasing power parity. Estimates are robust to a number of checks.

Suggested Citation

  • Costa-Font, Joan & Harrison, S. & Rudisill, C. & Salmasi, L., 2023. "The social value of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine: willingness to pay estimates from four Western countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118625, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:118625
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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick Carlin & Brian E. Dixon & Kosali I. Simon & Ryan Sullivan & Coady Wing, 2022. "How Undervalued is the Covid-19 Vaccine? Evidence from Discrete Choice Experiments and VSL Benchmarks," NBER Working Papers 30118, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Bussolo, Maurizio & Sarma, Nayantara & Torre, Iván, 2023. "The links between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and non-pharmaceutical interventions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    3. Cozzi, Guido & Galli, Silvia, 2022. "Covid-19 Vaccines, Innovation, and Intellectual Property Rights," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1095, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social value; willingness to pay; vaccine value; vaccine attitudes; payment card; sample selection; protest responses; positive externalities; COVID-19 Research Initiative; Office of the Vice President for Research; University of South Carolina; Wiley deal;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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