Health Seeking amid Violence: Evidence from the Philippines

Abstract

That crime and conflict can negatively affect child health is well documented, but one potentially important mechanism has received little attention: Do increases in local violence reduce the utilization of curative and preventative care? Combining a database of violent events with the 2013 Demographic and Health Survey of the Philippines, I exploit within-location variation in violence over time. I find that violence reduces the probability that a mother takes her sick child to a health facility, gives birth in a hospital, or vaccinates her children.