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From Cholera Outbreaks to Pandemics: The Role of Poverty and Inequality

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  • Nejat Anbarci
  • Monica Escaleras
  • Charles A. Register

Abstract

Cholera and other diarrheal diseases are the second leading cause of death among the poor globally. The tragedy of this statistic is that it need not be the case. Unlike many afflictions, the impact of cholera can be greatly reduced, if not eliminated, through the provision of clean water services. This begs the question of why such provision is absent in much of the world. It is our contention that the provision of clean water services is an increasing function of both a country's level of income and income equality. We test these hypotheses by analyzing 1,032 annual observations arising from 55 relatively poor countries between the years 1980 and 2002. In the primary part of the analysis, we find that providing clean water is, as predicted, an increasing function of income and equality. Following this, and consistent with the existing epidemiological research on cholera, we find that both the numbers of cases and deaths resulting from a given cholera outbreak are strongly and negatively related to the provision of clean water.

Suggested Citation

  • Nejat Anbarci & Monica Escaleras & Charles A. Register, 2012. "From Cholera Outbreaks to Pandemics: The Role of Poverty and Inequality," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 57(1), pages 21-31, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:amerec:v:57:y:2012:i:1:p:21-31
    DOI: 10.1177/056943451205700102
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    2. Dollar, David & Kraay, Aart, 2002. "Growth Is Good for the Poor," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 195-225, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. James Davies, 2021. "Economic Inequality and Covid-19 Death Rates in the First Wave, a Cross-Country Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 8957, CESifo.
    2. repec:osf:socarx:36cqf_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Prachi Jhamb & Susana Ferreira & Patrick Stephens & Mekala Sundaram & Jonathan Wilson, 2025. "Shedding light on development: Leveraging the new nightlights data to measure economic progress," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, February.
    4. Guido Alfani, 2022. "Epidemics, Inequality, and Poverty in Preindustrial and Early Industrial Times," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(1), pages 3-40, March.

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