Housing, health, and happiness

Matias Cattaneo, Sebastian Galiano, Paul J. Gertler, Sebastian Martinez and Rocio Titiunik
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Sebastian Galiani

No 4214, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Despite the importance of housing for people's well-being, there has been little work done to assess the causal impact of housing and housing improvement programs on health and welfare. In this paper the authors help fill this gap by investigating the impact of a large-scale effort by the Mexican government to replace dirt floors with cement floors on child health and adult happiness. They find that replacing dirt floors with cement floors significantly reduces parasitic infestations in young children, reduces diarrhea, reduces anemia, and improves cognitive development. Finally, they also find that this program leave adults substantially better off, as measured by satisfaction with their housing and quality of life and by their significantly lower rates of depression and perceived stress.

Keywords: Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Disease Control&Prevention; Housing&Human Habitats; Access to Finance; Construction Industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-08-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-hap, nep-hea, nep-ppm and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Housing, Health, and Happiness (2009)
Working Paper: Housing, Health and Happiness (2008)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4214

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