Encouraging Uptake of the COVID-19 Vaccine Through Behaviorally Informed Interventions: National Real-World Evidence From Israel

Abstract

The current paper clarifies the value of two methods to encourage COVID-19 vaccination: Simple nudge reminders, and regulation that increases the benefit from vaccination. Our analysis of reminders is based on a controlled experiment. The results reveal that in the current context a reminder that emphasizes personal benefit is 9% more effective than a social benefit nudge. Our analysis of regulations can be described as a case study. It suggests that the green pass policy implemented in Israel on February 21, 2021 (and relaxes the social distance constraints for vaccinated individuals) was associated with an increase of 20% in the vaccination rate. We conclude with a discussion of the conditions that determine the relative effectiveness of personal benefit nudges

Note: Funding Statement: This study received no funding.

Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the CHS’ Institutional Review Board (IRB) (0036-21-COM1). the IRB granted a waiver of consent for this research since it was not a clinical trial, but an organizational initiative to optimize internal policy.

Keywords: COVID-19, Nudge, Vaccination, Field Experiment

JEL Classification: I12