Working Papers
The Impact of the Large-Scale Migration on the Unmet Healthcare Needs of the Nativeborn Population in A Host Country: Evidence from Turkey
No.
1436
Publisher
ERF
Date
December, 2020
Topic
O5. Economywide Country Studies
I1. Health
J1. Demographic Economics
As of December 2018, Turkey is home to 3.6 million Syrian refugees under temporary protection status. The negative externalities of Syrian refugees may affect the native-born population's needs, precisely healthcare needs. The possible increase in healthcare demand due to population increase may escalate unmet healthcare needs (UHCN). The study contributes to the literature by analyzing refugees' effect on the native-born population's unmet healthcare needs. Our central hypothesis is that mass refugee influx increases the ratio of the UHCN arising mainly from systemic reasons, especially at the beginning of the migration crisis. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find that the UHCN of the native-born population has increased due to the mass refugee influx. We estimate the magnitude of this increase by nearly 6.3% at the beginning of the refugee crisis. The impact diminishes as the imbalance of demand and supply of healthcare services diminishes.
Authors
Hüseyin Ikizler
Assistant Professor, OSTIM Technical University
Authors
Emre Yuksel
PhD candidate, Hacettepe University
Authors
Hüsniye Burçin Ikizler
Ministry of Health, Turkey