Short-term impacts of solar lanterns on child health: experimental evidence from Bangladesh

Yuya Kudo, Abu Shonchoy and Kazushi Takahashi

No 646, IDE Discussion Papers from Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO)

Abstract: We implemented a 16-month randomized field experiment in unelectrified areas of Bangladesh to identify health impacts of solar lanterns among school-aged children. Our analysis of various health-related indicators?self-reporting, spirometers, and professional medical checkups?showed modest improvements in eye redness and irritation but no noticeable improvement in respiratory symptoms among treated students. Varying the number of solar products received within treatment households did not alter these results. This limited health benefit was not caused by nonutilization of the products by treated children, spillover effects from treated to control students, or treatment heterogeneity resulting from unfavorable family cooking environments.

Keywords: Health and hygiene; Children; Energy; Clean energy; Indoor air pollution; Randomized control trials; Solar light (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I15 O13 Q42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dev, nep-exp and nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published in IDE Discussion Paper = IDE Discussion Paper, No. 646. 2017-03

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https://ir.ide.go.jp/record/37547/files/IDP000646_001.pdf First version, 2017 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Short-Term Impacts of Solar Lanterns on Child Health: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh (2019)
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