Behavioral Adaptation to Improved Environmental Quality: Evidence from a Sanitation Intervention

Lisa Cameron (), An Huang (), Paulo Santos () and Milan Thomas ()
Additional contact information
Lisa Cameron: University of Melbourne
An Huang: Monash University
Paulo Santos: Monash University
Milan Thomas: Asian Development Bank

No 751, ADB Economics Working Paper Series from Asian Development Bank

Abstract: This paper investigates behavioral adaptation to local improvements in environmental quality. Using exogenous variation in village sanitation coverage generated by the randomized allocation of financial incentives to latrine construction in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, we find that the generalized adoption of improved sanitation led to significant reductions in the practice of boiling water for drinking. Our analysis suggests that this change is likely a behavioral response to a reduction in the health benefits associated with treating water, which decline and eventually become negligible as local adoption of improved sanitation increases. Estimates of the value of time savings associated with the reduction in water boiling suggest that this adaptation is an additional important benefit of sanitation investments, most of which likely accrues to girls and women.

Keywords: WASH; water boiling; height-for-age; firewood collection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 O15 Q50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2024-11-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-env, nep-hea and nep-sea
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:adbewp:0751

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