The impact of water quality on health: Evidence from the drinking water infrastructure program in rural China

Jing Zhang

Journal of Health Economics, 2012, vol. 31, issue 1, 122-134

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of a major water quality improvement program in rural China on the health of adults and children. Using panel data covering about 4500 households from 1989 to 2006, I estimate the impact of introducing village-level access to water from water plants on various measures of health. The regression results imply that the illness incidence of adults decreased by 11 percent and their weight-for-height increased by 0.835kg/m, and that children's weight-for-height and height itself both rose by 0.446kg/m and 0.962cm respectively, as a result of the program. And these estimates are quite stable across different robustness checks.

Keywords: Drinking water; Infrastructure program; Health status (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 I31 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (61)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:31:y:2012:i:1:p:122-134

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2011.08.008

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