Freakonomics, M.D. 55. This Vaccine Lottery Seemed Like a Great Idea. Why Didn’t it Work?
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Sep 30, 2022 AI Snips
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Regret Lottery Origins
- In spring 2021, behavioral scientist Katy Milkman discussed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy with Nobel laureates Richard Thaler and Daniel Kahneman.
- They proposed a "regret lottery" to incentivize vaccinations.
Regret Lottery Psychology
- Regret lotteries leverage "loss aversion," where the pain of losing something outweighs the pleasure of gaining it.
- This makes the potential loss of a prize more motivating than a potential gain.
Regret Lottery Results
- The Philadelphia regret lottery, targeting specific zip codes, did not significantly increase vaccinations.
- Factors like the politically charged atmosphere and timing may have contributed to this outcome.