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. 2017 Dec;7(1):14.
doi: 10.1186/s13561-017-0149-3. Epub 2017 Mar 23.

Does birth under-registration reduce childhood immunization? Evidence from the Dominican Republic

Steve Brito  1 , Ana Corbacho  1 , Rene Osorio  2
Affiliations

Does birth under-registration reduce childhood immunization? Evidence from the Dominican Republic

Steve Brito et al. Health Econ Rev. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

The consequences of lacking birth certificates remain largely unexplored in the economic literature. We intend to fill this knowledge gap studying the effect of lacking birth certificates on immunization of children in the Dominican Republic. This is an interesting country because a significant number of children of Haitian descent face the consequences of lacking proper documentation. We use the distance to the civil registry office and the mother's document of identification as instrumental variables of the child's birth certificate. After controlling for distance to immunization services and other determinants, this paper finds that children between 0 and 59 months of age that do not have birth certificates are behind by nearly one vaccine (out of a total of nine) compared to those that have birth certificates.

Keywords: Health access; Immunization; Under-registration.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Percentage of children without birth certificates, Age 0–4, 2000–2010*
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Vaccination schedule
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Dominican Republic: distribution of age by vaccines
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Health System Coverage in the Dominican Republic
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Location of immunization centers
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Frequency of distances to immunization centers
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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