Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/311580 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 30.2024
Publisher: 
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Milano
Abstract: 
The rising number of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) presents new challenges for vaccine distribution and the spread of diseases. How do forcibly displaced population inflows affect infectious diseases incidence in host communities? Can a policy intervention that vaccinates children during their migration mitigate the impacts? To answer these questions, we examine the Pakistani mass internal displacement from the conflict-affected Federally Administered Tribal Areas in 2008. Using a difference-indifferences approach, we compare new polio cases in districts near and far from the conflict zone before and after 2008. The spatial distribution of districts relative to the historical region of Pashtunistan allows us to design a sample of comparable units. We show that a standard deviation increase in predicted IDP inflow leads to a rise in the new polio cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Poorer vaccination levels among IDP compared to native children in host communities are one of the main mechanisms. Implementing a vaccination policy targeting IDP children during their migration journey helps bridge the vaccination gap, with important welfare implications.
Subjects: 
internal displacement
infectious diseases
vaccines
Pakistan
JEL: 
D60
I15
O15
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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