Health and agricultural productivity: Evidence from Zambia

Günther Fink and Felix Masiye

Journal of Health Economics, 2015, vol. 42, issue C, 151-164

Abstract: We evaluate the productivity effects of investment in preventive health technology through a randomized controlled trial in rural Zambia. In the experiment, access to subsidized bed nets was randomly assigned at the community level; 516 farmers were followed over a one-year farming period. We find large positive effects of preventative health investment on productivity: among farmers provided with access to free nets, harvest value increased by US$ 76, corresponding to about 14.7% of the average output value. While only limited information was collected on farming inputs, shifts in the extensive and the intensive margins of labor supply appear to be the most likely mechanism underlying the productivity improvements observed.

Keywords: Investment; Health; Productivity; Agriculture; Malaria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I15 J24 J43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (30)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:42:y:2015:i:c:p:151-164

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2015.04.004

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