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Vaccination policy of Japanese municipalities

Author

Listed:
  • Shun-ichiro Bessho

    (Faculty of Economics, Keio University)

  • Yoko Ibuka

    (Tohoku University)

Abstract

Japan's immunization policy is often perceived as lagging behind those of other developed nations because of the delay in vaccine licensing and exclusion from the national program of some vaccines widely used elsewhere. In Japan, municipal authorities provide financial support for voluntary vaccinations, which are not included in the national program. This study examines the process of vaccination policymaking by municipal governments, focusing on the interdependency of such policy and using the spatial lag model and data from 2010. We make the following three findings. First, there are no systematic priorities on vaccines across municipalities. Second, vaccination subsidy policy is statistically significantly correlated with neighboring municipalities in the same prefecture, but not outside, indicating that Japanese municipalities engage in "yardstick competition" in the same prefecture. Third, no strong correlations between the other socio-economic or fiscal characteristics of municipalities and vaccination subsidy policy are detected.

Suggested Citation

  • Shun-ichiro Bessho & Yoko Ibuka, 2016. "Vaccination policy of Japanese municipalities," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2016-004, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    • Handle: RePEc:keo:dpaper:2016-004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    vaccine policy; spatial lag model; yardstick competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism

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