The institutional origins of vaccines distrust: evidence from former-Soviet countries

Costa-Font, Joan ORCID: 0000-0001-7174-7919, Garcia Hombrados, Jorge and Nicińska, Anna (2023) The institutional origins of vaccines distrust: evidence from former-Soviet countries. PLOS ONE, 18 (3). ISSN 1932-6203

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Abstract

How is vaccines scepticism related to the exposure to Soviet communism? Using individual level evidence on vaccine trust with regards to its efficiency and safety in 122 countries that differ in their exposure to communism, we document that past exposure to Soviet communism is associated with lower trust in vaccination. We show that exposure to socio-political regimes can negatively affect trust in vaccines, which is explained by weak trust in both government and medical advice from doctors as well as in people from the neighbourhood. These results suggest that roots of vaccine scepticism lie in a wider distrust in public and state institutions resulting from the exposure to Soviet communism.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://journals.plos.org/plosone/
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Authors
Divisions:	Health Policy
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2023 14:30
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 17:03
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/118179

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