Climate adaptation policies and infant health: Evidence from a water policy in Brazil

Daniel Da Mata, Lucas Emanuel, Vitor Pereira and Breno Sampaio

Journal of Public Economics, 2023, vol. 220, issue C

Abstract: This paper studies how in utero exposure to a large-scale climate adaptation program affects birth outcomes. The program built around one million cisterns in Brazil’s poorest and driest region to promote small-scale decentralized rainfall harvesting. Access to cisterns during early pregnancy increased birth weight, particularly for more educated mothers. Data suggest that more educated women complied more with the program’s water disinfection training, highlighting that even simple, low-cost technologies require final users’ compliance (“the last mile”) to be effective. In the context of growing water scarcity, adaptation policies can foster neonatal health and thus have positive long-run implications.

Keywords: Climate; Adaptation; Birth outcomes; Cisterns; Water (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I15 Q25 Q54 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: Climate Adaptation Policies and Infant Health: Evidence from a Water Policy in Brazil (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:220:y:2023:i:c:s0047272723000178

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2023.104835

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