Get vaccinated in Ohio and hit the jackpot
As behavioural economics go, offering a $1m lottery prize to effect change may be a safe bet
An innovative lottery programme in Ohio looks like it might have succeeded in raising vaccination rates. If the result holds, it means a triumph for behavioural economics — and that will open up the possibility of using lotteries to lure people into doing all sorts of things.
Less than 50% of the US population has been vaccinated so far — enough to reduce cases, but not nearly enough to end the pandemic decisively. Public health authorities have tossed out a lot of ideas for getting these people to do the right thing: vaccine passports, payments to people who get vaccinated, sending people personalised text messages, to name a few. But the best solution might have been found by Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine...
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