Seasonal Effects of Water Quality on Infant and Child Health in India
51 Pages Posted: 26 May 2012
Elizabeth Brainerd
Brandeis University - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics
Nidhiya Menon
Brandeis University - International Business School
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of fertilizer agrichemicals in water on infant and child health using data on water quality combined with data on the health outcomes of infants and children from the 1992-93, 1998-99, and 2005-06 Demographic and Health Surveys of India. Because fertilizers are applied at specific times in the growing season, the concentrations of agrichemicals in water vary seasonally and by cropped area as some Indian states plant predominantly summer crops while others plant winter crops. Our identification strategy exploits the differing timing of the planting seasons across regions and differing seasonal prenatal exposure to agrichemicals to identify the impact of agrichemical contamination on various measures of child health. The results indicate that children exposed to higher concentrations of agrichemicals during their first month experience worse health outcomes on a variety of measures (infant mortality, neo-natal mortality, height-for-age z scores and weight-for-age z-scores). Disaggregated runs reveal that effects are largest amongst the most vulnerable groups – children of uneducated poor women living in rural India.
Keywords: fertilizer agrichemicals, water pollutants, child health, infant mortality, India, fertilizers
JEL Classification: O12, I15, Q53, Q56
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Elizabeth Brainerd (Contact Author)
Brandeis University - Department of Economics ( email )
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
United States
Nidhiya Menon
Brandeis University - International Business School ( email )
Mailstop 32
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
United States
781-736-2230 (Phone)
781-736-2269 (Fax)
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