Behavioral Economics And COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Using Heuristics to Both Understand the Reasons Behind COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Within the United States and Formulate Policy that Combats It

Abstract

This research paper will examine the relationship between behavioral economics and COVID- 19 vaccine hesitancy within the United States using three heuristics: availability, confirmation bias, and framing. Each heuristic will be precisely defined, and its various mechanisms will be analyzed in great detail in order to understand the reasons behind COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Furthermore, the mechanisms of these heuristics will be exploited in order to formulate practical policy recommendations that stakeholders can use to combat vaccine hesitancy and encourage the American public into getting vaccinated, thus complementing the existing choice architecture. This paper will also evaluate existing policies or methods that aim to overcome these biases and increase vaccination uptake.