The Hidden Cost of Bananas: The Effects of Pesticides on Newborns’ Health

Joan Calzada, Meritxell Gisbert and Bernard Moscoso

Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 2023, vol. 10, issue 6, 1623 - 1663

Abstract: This study examines the effects of aerial fumigation of banana plantations on newborns’ health during the period 2015–17 in Ecuador. Using the mothers’ addresses, the perimeter of the plantations, and the amount of pesticides applied in each plantation, we determine newborns’ exposure to pesticides. We then implement a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits seasonal variations in the use of pesticides to identify the causal effect of fumigations on newborns’ health outcomes. Our analysis shows that newborns with a high exposure to pesticides during gestation have a birth weight deficit of between 80 and 150 grams. Moreover, exposure to pesticides increases the likelihood of low birth weight and preterm delivery. We validate our results with a maternal fixed effect model that compares the health outcomes of siblings exposed and not exposed to intensive fumigations. We also carry out placebo and falsification tests considering newborns exposed to other crops not using aerial fumigations.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/725349 (application/pdf)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/725349 (text/html)
Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucp:jaerec:doi:10.1086/725349

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists from University of Chicago Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Journals Division ().