Research

 Working Papers

Refugee Influx and Immunization among Native Children (Submitted)

The sudden influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan starting in 2011 imposed a heavy burden on the healthcare sector. Given a relatively inelastic short-run supply of health services, this may have induced a reduction in healthcare utilization among native Jordanians, perhaps especially in terms of routine care. Exploiting variation in the share of refugees across time and space and using an instrumented difference-in-differences identification strategy, this paper examines the impact of Syrian refugees on childhood immunization rates of native Jordanians. I find that the influx delayed natives' receipt of childhood vaccines, suggesting some congestion in the healthcare sector. However, I find no effect on the likelihood of eventually receiving the vaccines, pointing to the short-term nature of the impacts of such events.

Publications

Almuhaisen, A., Amuedo-Dorantes, C., & Furtado, D. (2024). Immigration enforcement and the institutionalization of elderly Americans. Journal of Health Economics, 94, 102859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2024.102859

Almuhaisen, A. Refugee influx and school enrollment among native youths in Jordan. J Popul Econ 37, 33 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-024-01016-9