The Vaccination Kuznets Curve: Do vaccination rates rise and fall with income?

Yutaro Sakai

Journal of Health Economics, 2018, vol. 57, issue C, 195-205

Abstract: This paper presents a new stylized fact about the relationship between income and childhood vaccination. It shows vaccination rates first rise but then fall as income increases. This pattern is observed in WHO country-level panel data, and in US county-level panel and individual-level repeated cross-section data. This data pattern suggests that both low and high-income parents are less likely to follow the standard vaccination schedule, and that such behavior is reflected in the vaccination rate at the population level. I provide several alternative explanations as to why we observe this data pattern, including avoidance measures, medical care, and social segregation.

Keywords: Avoidance; Income; Immunization; Infectious disease; Medical care; NIS; Childhood vaccination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H41 I12 I15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:57:y:2018:i:c:p:195-205

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.12.002

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