Detailed Geographic Information, Conflict Exposure, and Health Impacts

Richard Akresh (), German Caruso and Harsha Thirumurthy ()
Additional contact information
Harsha Thirumurthy: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

No 10330, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We estimate the impact of exposure to conflict on health outcomes using geographic information on households' distance from conflict sites – a more accurate measure of shock exposure – and compare the impact on children exposed in utero versus after birth. The identification strategy relies on exogenous variation in the conflict's geographic extent and timing. Conflict-exposed children have lower height-for-age, and impacts using GPS information are 2-3 times larger than if exposure is measured at the imprecise regional level. Results are robust to addressing endogenous migration. Health service disruptions and maternal stressors are potential explanations for the negative health effects on children.

Keywords: fetal origins hypothesis; conflict; child health; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 J13 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2016-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published - published in: World Development, 2022, 155, 105890

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Related works:
Journal Article: Detailed geographic information, conflict exposure, and health impacts (2022)
Working Paper: Detailed Geographic Information, Conflict Exposure, and Health Impacts (2016)
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