The Dream of Wiping Out Polio Might Need a Rethink

EconEye Admin

3 years ago

A fundamental goal of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is to wipe the polio virus off the face of the earth. In the first quarter of 2023, there have been 15 cases, total, in the entire world. But mass immunization campaigns in places like northern Yemen and Somalia are nearly impossible.—npr.org

Answer the following questions to check your understanding of the story.

Can an immunization program that results in 15 cases of polio per quarter be an efficient outcome?

a) Yes, if 15 cases maximize the external benefit of immunization.

b) Yes, if the marginal social benefit of immunization equals its marginal social cost.

c) Any cases of polio is more than the efficient quantity.

d) Yes, if the marginal private benefit of immunization equals its marginal private cost.

Wrong! - What is the relationship between marginal social benefit, marginal social cost, marginal private benefit, and marginal private cost in an efficient market?

Well Done! - If, at the number of people immunized, marginal social benefit of immunization equals its marginal cost, and the outcome is 15 cases of polio per quarter, the outcome is efficient.

Why might mass polio immunization campaigns be unlikely to reach the goal of eradication?

a) Because total immunization isn’t an efficient outcome.

b) Because total immunization doesn’t maximize marginal external benefit.

c) Because the marginal social cost of total immunization far exceeds its marginal social benefit.

d) Because total immunization occurs only when people consider the external benefit of being vaccinated.

Wrong! - What is the outcome from an efficient polio immunization campaign? How is the number of people vaccinated determined?

Correct! - The marginal social cost of polio immunization increases, and the marginal social benefit of polio immunization decreases as more and more people are immunized. The people remaining to be immunized tend to live in the African countries with poor health-care systems, which creates a large gap between marginal social cost and marginal social benefit.

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