Working Paper: NBER ID: w7541
Authors: F. Desmond McCarthy; Holger Wolf; Yi Wu
Abstract: Malaria ranks among the foremost health issues facing tropical countries. In this paper, we explore the determinants of cross-country differences in malaria morbidity, and examine the linkage between malaria and economic growth. Using a classification rule analysis, we confirm the dominant role of climate in accounting for cross-country differences in malaria morbidity. The data, however, do not suggest that tropical location is destiny: controlling for climate, we find that access to rural healthcare and income equality influence malaria morbidity. In a cross-section growth framework, we find a significant negative association between higher malaria morbidity and the growth rate of GDP per capita which is robust to a number of modifications, including controlling for reverse causation. The estimated absolute growth impact of malaria differs sharply across countries; it exceeds a quarter percent per annum in a quarter of the sample countries. Most of these are located in Sub-Saharan Africa (with an estimated average annual growth reduction of 0.55 percent).
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: F43; I10; O10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| climate (Q54) | malaria morbidity (I12) |
| access to healthcare (I14) | malaria morbidity (I12) |
| income equality (D31) | malaria morbidity (I12) |
| malaria morbidity (I12) | GDP growth rate (O49) |