Herd Immunity: A Classroom Experiment

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Outbreaks of dangerous, preventable diseases have drawn attention to individuals who fail to obtain available and effective vaccines. This classroom experiment demonstrates the basic cost-benefit trade off inherent in vaccination. As more students obtain a costly vaccine, the likelihood of a non-immunized student catching the disease declines; non-vaccinating students obtain herd immunity. In equilibrium, a substantial fraction of students fail to obtain the vaccine. In addition to highlighting a genuine public health issue, the experiment can also be used more generally to illustrate the nature of externalities and the public goods problem.


Alan Grant, Jim Bruehler and Andreea Chiritescu

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Grant, A., Bruehler, J., & Chiritescu, A. (2016). Herd Immunity: A Classroom Experiment. Journal of Economics Teaching, 1(1), 7-16. DOI: 10.58311/jeconteach/701f2d62dd1521b80002597350901bef3cffbaea