Targeting Interventions to Improve Childhood Vaccination Rates at Minimal Cost in Maharashtra

This study develops a cost-effective multi-intervention strategy to improve vaccination adherence for children. A prediction algorithm identifies which of a range of interventions a specific household would respond to and then deploys the lowest-cost intervention that is predicted to induce adherence. This strategy is highly cost-effective because the targeting ensures that higher-cost interventions - such as relatively larger cash transfers - are used only for households that do not adhere to cheaper interventions, such as SMS reminders. Researchers implement this trial using administrative data on pregnancies (to enroll households) and vaccinations (to measure outcomes) in collaboration with the state government of Maharashtra.