Health and Environmental Risks: An Empirical Study on the Household Solid Waste Management in Panama

Ambar Lineth Chavez Espinosa and Akira Hibiki

No 59, TUPD Discussion Papers from Graduate School of Economics and Management, Tohoku University

Abstract: This paper provides empirical evidence of how inefficient solid waste management (SWM) methods can exacerbate public health issues, particularly the incidence of diarrhea in children—one of the leading causes of death among children aged 0 to 4 in Panama. Additionally, it is found that infrequent solid waste collection services and indiscriminate furniture disposal increase the probability of dengue and diarrhea for household members and lead to blocked drains and floods. We conducted this research using repeated cross-sectional data from the Living Standards Measurement Surveys, covering 7,640 children aged 0 to 4. To broaden our contributions, we collected data through a face-to-face survey of 154 households in Panama City. The findings underscore the urgent need to prioritize improved solid waste collection services and consistent access to tap water, which can help reduce the incidence of diarrhea in children and prevent floods and drainage blockages across the country.

Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2024-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env and nep-hea
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https://hdl.handle.net/10097/0002002843

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:toh:tupdaa:59

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