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Zen and the art of experiments: A note on preventive healthcare and the 2019 nobel prize in economics

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  • Das, Jishnu

Abstract

I discuss Banerjee, Duflo and Kremer’s work on preventive healthcare in low-income countries. Their research in this field has changed the way that governments view cost-recovery for key preventive services, ranging from deworming to insecticide-treated bed-nets. Equally, their contributions also help us understand why markets likely under-produce preventive goods and how traditional economic thinking on externalities and subsidies may have to be reevaluated in the light of new experimental findings. Throughout, their research in this field typifies a deep commitment to learning from the setting that they are working in, as well as an unyielding dedication to improving the lives of the poor.

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  • Das, Jishnu, 2020. "Zen and the art of experiments: A note on preventive healthcare and the 2019 nobel prize in economics," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:127:y:2020:i:c:s0305750x19304577
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104808
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Kremer & Edward Miguel, 2007. "The Illusion of Sustainability," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 1007-1065.
    2. Rema Hanna & Esther Duflo & Michael Greenstone, 2016. "Up in Smoke: The Influence of Household Behavior on the Long-Run Impact of Improved Cooking Stoves," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 80-114, February.
    3. Gilles Saint-Paul, 2011. "The Tyranny of Utility: Behavioral Social Science and the Rise of Paternalism," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9480.
    4. Banerjee, Abhijit & Barnhardt, Sharon & Duflo, Esther, 2018. "Can iron-fortified salt control anemia? Evidence from two experiments in rural Bihar," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 127-146.
    5. Sarah Baird & Joan Hamory Hicks & Michael Kremer & Edward Miguel, 2016. "Worms at Work: Long-run Impacts of a Child Health Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1637-1680.
    6. Edward Miguel & Michael Kremer, 2004. "Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(1), pages 159-217, January.
    7. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2008. "Limited Attention and Income Distribution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 489-493, May.
    8. Michael Kremer & Christopher M. Snyder, 2015. "Preventives Versus Treatments," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(3), pages 1167-1239.
    9. Das, Jishnu & Das, Saumya, 2003. "Trust, learning, and vaccination: a case study of a North Indian village," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 97-112, July.
    10. Florencia Devoto & Esther Duflo & Pascaline Dupas & William Parienté & Vincent Pons, 2012. "Happiness on Tap: Piped Water Adoption in Urban Morocco," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 68-99, November.
    11. Jessica Cohen & Pascaline Dupas, 2010. "Free Distribution or Cost-Sharing? Evidence from a Randomized Malaria Prevention Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 1-45.
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