Financial incentives for vaccination do not have negative unintended consequences

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Economics
• Public Health Policy
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Financial incentives are debated for their potential to undermine prosocial motivations and trust.
• Previous research warns of negative unintended consequences of incentives on behavior and morals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To causally measure the unintended consequences of financial incentives for COVID-19 vaccination.
• To investigate the impact of incentives on vaccination uptake, morals, trust, and perceived safety.

Main Methods:

• Large-scale, pre-registered study in Sweden using random exposure to financial incentives.
• Combined administrative vaccination records with rich survey data.
• Complementary study on US residents' awareness of incentive programs.

Main Results:

• No negative consequences of financial incentives were observed.
• Small negative impacts on future vaccination, morals, trust, or safety were rejected.
• Informing US residents about incentives also had no negative effects.

Conclusions:

• Financial incentives for vaccination do not appear to have detrimental effects on prosocial behaviors or trust.
• Findings challenge the academic debate on incentive design and inform policymakers.
• Incentives can be considered for promoting healthy behaviors without eroding intrinsic motivation or trust.