Do traditional economic theories of free riding behavior explain spatial clustering of HPV vaccine uptake?

摘要

RationaleGeographic clusters of low vaccination uptake reduce the population-level efficacy of vaccination programs. However, little is known about the mechanisms that drive geographic patterns in vaccination rates. Traditional economic theory considers vaccination as a classic public good and suggests that free riding—individuals taking advantage of public goods by relying on others’ immunization behavior without contributing toward them—is a primary cause of low vaccination rates. However, behavioral economics suggests that free riding does not fully explain observed individual behavior, and the presence of both high and low clusters of vaccination rates suggest that this theory alone does not fully explain geographic patterns of vaccination.