Garbage in, garbage out: the impact of e-waste dumping sites on early child health

Stefania Lovo and Samantha Rawlings

No em-dp2021-07, Economics Discussion Papers from Department of Economics, University of Reading

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of e-waste dumping sites on early child health. We focus on two major dumping sites in West Africa, in Ghana and Nigeria. We observe children born before and after the creation of these dumps, and estimate a difference-in-difference specification in which we compare outcomes of those born within the vicinity of the dump (within 11km) to those further away, before and after e-waste sites are created. We find that the e-waste sites increase neonatal and infant mortality by 4.5 and 6.5 percentage points, respectively, for children living in the proximity of the site. Event study analysis suggests that the negative effects emerge 2-3 years after the existence of the site, consistent with the gradual and systematic build up on contaminants in the environment. Preliminary analysis considering routes of exposure suggests that water pollution may drive some of the observed effects.

Keywords: E-waste; Health; Infant Mortality; Dumping Sites (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 O10 Q53 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53 pages
Date: 2021-02-22
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-env and nep-hea
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2021-07

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