Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14705
Authors: Pauline Rossi; Paola Villar
Abstract: This study exploits the introduction of high subsidies for anti-malaria products in Senegal in 2009 to investigate whether malaria prevents parents from investing in child health. A simple model of health investments under competing mortality risks predicts that privateexpenses to fight malaria and other diseases should increase in response to anti-malaria public interventions. We test and validate this prediction using original panel data from a household expenditure survey combined with geographical information on malaria prevalence. We find that health expenditures in malarious regions catch up with non-malarious regions. The same result holds for parental health-seeking behavior against other diseases like diarrhea. These patterns cannot be explained by differential trends between regions. Our results suggest that behavioral responses to anti-malaria campaigns magnify their impact on all-cause mortality for children.
Keywords: health expenses; malaria; africa; human capital; competing risks
JEL Codes: D1; H51; I1; J13; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increase in health expenditures (H51) | parental health-seeking behavior against other diseases (I12) |
| antimalaria campaigns (I32) | parental health-seeking behavior against other diseases (I12) |
| increase in health expenditures (H51) | all-cause mortality for children (I12) |
| antimalaria campaigns (I32) | increase in health expenditures (H51) |