Are Vaccine Lotteries Worth the Money?

Abstract

This research evaluates the effects of the twelve statewide vaccine lottery schemes that were announced as of June 7, 2021 on state vaccination rates. We construct a dataset that matches information on the timing and location of these lotteries with daily, county-level data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on the cumulative number of people who have received at least one dose of an emergency-authorized COVID-19 vaccine. We find that 10 of the 12 statewide lotteries studied (i.e., all but Arkansas and California) generated a positive, statistically significant, and economically meaningful impact on vaccine uptake after thirty days. On average, the cost per marginal vaccination across these programs was approximately $55.

Note:

Funding: Research assistance (by Megha Mathur and Margaret Houtz) was supported by the N. Neal Pike Scholar fund at Boston University School of Law.

Conflict of Interest: The authors report no conflicting interests relevant to this work

Keywords: COVID-19, vaccination, incentives, health behaviors, public health, lotteries

JEL Classification: L18, K32, D78, H41, H72