Recently,
I read an article on ‘The Economics of Vaccine Nationalism’
by Finshots.in, which talked about the individualistic stance taken by the
governments around the globe to develop the coronavirus vaccine for its
respective citizens.
The
primary logic being deployed here is that if even if the vaccine developed at
our country turns out to be a success, it will bound to have a limited supply,
hence we need to ensure that our citizens would get the first opportunity of
availing it.
The article talks about the various fallacies in the logic being deployed, such as
the high chances of a particular vaccine development efforts turning out to be
a dud, and even if the backed efforts turn out to be a winner, it would provide
a sub-optimal solution due to the very nature of coronavirus.
Hence,
in order to ensure that any vaccine developed anywhere in the world is
accessible to even the poorest of nations and not just the highest bidder, a
collective effort is required at a global level.
While
the notion of protecting your citizens might be a valid rationale, there’s
something else that might be at play here. Something which is, in fact, a
fundamental behavior of almost every human being: the “Not-Invented-Here”
(NIH) bias.
Professor
Dan Ariely has explored this irrationality in-depth in his book ‘The Upside Of
Irrationality’.
The
“Not-Invented-Here” bias primarily means “If I didn’t invent it, then it’s not
worth much.”
In my previous article on The IKEA Effect, I talked
about one’s attachment to self-made physical goods. As per Professor Ariely’s
research, it turns out that this overvaluation extends to ideas as well.
The human race is not only slow about borrowing variable ideas, and it sometimes
persists in not borrowing them at all.
On one hand, this bias can create a higher level of commitment and cause
people to follow through on ideas that are their own. Hence, we are seeing several
nations making massive investments in developing their own vaccine.
However,
on the other hand, it may mean an irrational attachment to our own ideas. Just
like Thomas Edison’s obsession with Direct Current (DC) electricity. When
Nikola Tesla developed Alternate Current (AC) electricity, Edison dismissed the
idea. Edison could have had the patent for AC since Tesla had worked for him
when he invented it, but his love for DC was too strong.
The
pandemic has invariably provided an opportunity for scientists and
pharmaceuticals around the world to come into the limelight by developing a
potent vaccine at the earliest, thus giving birth to a “competition” at a
global level.
Hence,
it is very much possible that the countries around the globe are simply displaying
the ‘Not-Invented-Here’ bias. It remains to be seen whether it propels a
quicker resolution to the pandemic crisis, or whether it would consume the
entire world.
Written by - Snehil Kesarwani
Edited by - Chhavi Gupta
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