Social Science Lecture Series | Prof. Dr. Markus Tepe › view all

What determines the willingness of citizens in vaccine-rich countries to donate vaccines to vaccinepoor countries? Evidence from an Anchoring Vignette Experiment in the US, China, and Germany

Social Sciences Lecture Series with Prof. Dr. Markus Tepe on "What determines the willingness of citizens in vaccine-rich countries to donate vaccines to vaccinepoor countries? Evidence from an Anchoring Vignette Experiment in the US, China, and Germany".

Abstract

This study considers a global pandemic where an effective vaccine is available but unequally distributed among countries. The vaccine is in short supply or practically unavailable in many countries, while other countries possess surplus stocks. Governments of vaccine-rich countries face the choice between stocking surplus vaccines to protect their citizens in case of future outbreaks or donating them to vaccinate the citizens of vaccine-poor countries, thereby reducing the risk of future variants (Variants Of Concern = VOC). Lampert et al. (2022) developed a game-theoretic model to identify optimal strategies for vaccine-rich countries’ donations. This study tests the causal effect of the model’s main parameters on the willingness of citizens in vaccine-rich countries to donate surplus vaccines to vaccine-poor countries. Specifically, we test the impact of (1) the share of the population vaccinated (Vmax), (2) the rate of emergence of VOC, (3) the number of vaccine-rich countries (N), and (4) the cost of a future outbreak (c). To identify the causal effect of these parameters, we conducted an online survey experiment using anchoring vignettes among citizens in the US, China, and Germany (2500 respondents per country). Empirical results show that citizens in Germany and China, but not in the US, are sensitive to Vmax. There is no sensitivity to the three other parameters, except for the number of donating countries in the case of China. In sum, while the model parameters have limited explanatory power, respondents’ personal infection experience and vaccination status remain significant predictors of their willingness to donate surplus vaccines across all three countries.

In October 2023, Prof. Dr. Markus Tepe joined the GlobaLap Cluster initiative team as a Professor for Political Science at the University of Bremen.

Organization

The lecture is orgnized by the GlobaLab Cluster initiative and part of the Lecture Series "Bremen Conversations on Global Solidarity"

The lecture will take place on site in the BIGSSS Conference Room (University of Bremen, Mary-Somerville Str. 7, UNICOM, house 7, 3rd floor, room 7.3280) and will be streamed via Zoom:

https://uni-bremen.zoom.us/j/9461422783

Meeting ID: 946 142 2783