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The Effect of Piped Water at Home on Childhood Overweight Rate. Experimental Evidence from Urban Morocco

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  • Patricia I. Ritter

    (University of Connecticut)

Abstract

Obesity is a global epidemic costing billions of dollars and millions of deaths. The most cost-effective interventions are those that target children, aiming to prevent obesity rather than to reverse it later in life. Roughly 79% of overweight children under five live in middle-income countries, where only about half of the households have access to piped water at home. This study finds that access to piped water at home reduces children’s overweight rate in the city of Tangiers. Back-of-envelope calculations suggest that this benefit alone does not render this type of intervention cost-effective, but adds significantly to other potential benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Patricia I. Ritter, 2019. "The Effect of Piped Water at Home on Childhood Overweight Rate. Experimental Evidence from Urban Morocco," Working papers 2019-02, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2021.
    • Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:2019-02
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    obesity; piped water; childhood; developing countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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