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. 2022 Mar;22(1):53-68.
doi: 10.1007/s10754-021-09309-2. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Willingness to give amid pandemics: a contingent valuation of anticipated nongovernmental immunization programs

Affiliations

Willingness to give amid pandemics: a contingent valuation of anticipated nongovernmental immunization programs

William F Vásquez et al. Int J Health Econ Manag. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Given that altruism is crucial in assisting impoverished households to cope with health and economic crises, it is important to improve our understanding of how preferences and motives for giving differ during a pandemic. We implemented a web-based, contingent valuation survey to estimate Americans' willingness to give for nongovernmental immunization programs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results indicate that the median person is willing to give a one-time donation of $26, or at least $13 when willingness-to-give estimates are corrected for uncertainty regarding future donations. We find that willingness to give is related to income, concern levels, vaccine usage, and sociodemographic characteristics. Our findings also shed light on purely and impurely altruistic motives underlying the willingness to fund immunization programs.

Keywords: Altruism; Contingent valuation; Pandemics; Vaccines; Willingness to give.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Willingness-to-Give Estimates (95% Confidence Intervals). Note: These estimates are based on Model 4. WTG estimates were corrected for uncertainty by recoding positive responses whose certainty levels were below 7 on a 1–10 scale as negative
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Reasons for Giving Reported by Sampled Individuals. Note: Observations = 1,358
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Willingness-to-Give Estimates Using Population Means by Concern Levels. Note: These estimates are based on Model 4. WTG estimates were corrected for uncertainty by recoding positive responses whose certainty levels were below 7 on a 1–10 scale as negative

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