Disease and Labor Productivity

Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 414-435, April 1974

23 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2011

See all articles by Burton A. Weisbrod

Burton A. Weisbrod

Northwestern University - Department of Economics; University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics

Robert E. Baldwin

University of Wisconsin at Madison; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: April 1974

Abstract

Excerpt from introduction: Our object in this paper is both to advance the understanding of the quantitative impact of parasitic diseases on output and to improve on the theoretical framework within which such estimates are made for any disease and in any region. While the study examines the productivity effects of five parasitic diseases-schistosomiasis, Ascaris (ascariasis), Trichuris (trichuriasis), Strongyloides (strongyloidiasis), and hookworm infection we have focused on schistosomiasis, which has been called the "unconquered plague."

Schistosomiasis is estimated to afflict more than 100 million persons throughout wide areas of predominantly less developed countries of the tropical world; 1 and, ironically, it threatens to become still more widespread as a result of developmental efforts such as water conservation and irrigation projects, which extend habitats for the intermediate snail host of the disease. Although schistosomiasis is the subject of a large and expanding research effort aimed at finding efficient control methods, this disease, like the other four parasitic infections discussed here, is seldom directly implicated as a cause of death, and its human costs are not well understood.

Suggested Citation

Weisbrod, Burton A. and Baldwin, Robert E., Disease and Labor Productivity (April 1974). Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 414-435, April 1974, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1856641

Burton A. Weisbrod (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Department of Economics ( email )

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University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics ( email )

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Robert E. Baldwin

University of Wisconsin at Madison ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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