3G internet access in rural India boosts vaccination rates for toddlers but has no effect on the shots given to newborns.
Digital connectivity solves the problem of parental forgetting for vaccines that require follow-up visits after 16 months. The internet acts as a memory aid that helps families stay on schedule with complex medical treatments. Healthcare providers often assume that a lack of medicine or money is the biggest barrier to vaccination in developing countries. This study identifies simple information friction as the primary reason children miss their later doses. Providing internet access can be just as effective as building new clinics for improving long-term health outcomes.
3G Internet and Information Frictions in Childhood Vaccination: Evidence from India
SSRN · 6667778
Vaccination rates remain high for doses delivered during routine early-life contacts, yet fall sharply for vaccines scheduled months later in low-and middle-income countries. We study whether mobile internet helps parents keep track of the immunization schedule in settings where completing later doses requires active follow-up. Using data on about 101,000 children from India's National Family Health Survey (2019-21) and an instrumental-variable strategy based on terrain ruggedness, we estimate t