Working Paper: NBER ID: w25729
Authors: Nina Buchmann; Erica M. Field; Rachel Glennerster; Reshmaan N. Hussam
Abstract: The 1994 discovery of arsenic in groundwater in Bangladesh prompted a massive public health campaign that led 20% of the population to switch from backyard wells to less convenient drinking water sources that had a higher risk of fecal contamination. We find evidence of unintended health consequences by comparing mortality trends between households in the same village that did and did not have an incentive to abandon shallow tubewells. Post-campaign, households encouraged to switch water sources have 46% higher rates of child mortality than those not encouraged to switch. Switching away from arsenic-contaminated wells also increased adult mortality.
Keywords: Arsenic; Child Mortality; Water Quality; Public Health; Bangladesh
JEL Codes: C81; C93; O12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Households encouraged to switch from shallow tubewells to alternative water sources (Q25) | Child mortality rates (J13) |
| Switching from shallow tubewells (Q15) | More remote water sources (Q25) |
| More remote water sources (Q25) | Child mortality rates (J13) |
| Access to deep tubewells within 400 meters (Q25) | Child mortality rates (J13) |
| Abandoning shallow tubewells contaminated with arsenic (Q53) | Health risks outweigh benefits of reducing arsenic exposure (I12) |