Evaluating the Long-Run Socioeconomic Effects of Childhood Vaccination

This MSCA research project “Evaluating the Long-Run Socioeconomic Effects of Childhood Vaccination” (Valvax) combines research in the fields of economics and clinical sciences to ask the overarching research question: What are the long-run social benefits attributable to early childhood access and experience with vaccines?

To answer this question, I will use the historical 1954 Salk polio vaccine trial and detailed individual level microdata to study the socio-effects of childhood vaccination.

With over 1.8 million child participants ages 6-10, the Salk trials were one of the largest medical trials ever conducted.

While the direct benefits of herd immunity and reductions in infectious disease are well studied, researchers have not studied the potential long-run effects of increased vaccine coverage on socioeconomic outcomes. Furthermore, economic historians have not studied the Salk trial and its effects.

Economists have established a strong connection between early childhood health and measures of economic wellbeing later in adulthood. Furthermore, medical researchers have found that vaccines can broadly affect overall health.

Valvax combines the University of Southern Denmark’s research expertise on the indirect effects of vaccines and focus in economic history to analyze the Salk trials and provide the first-ever study on the long-run socioeconomic effects of childhood vaccinations.