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Agricultural extension, intra-household allocation and malaria

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  • Yao Pan

    (Aalto University)

  • Saurabh Singhal

    (Lancaster University)

Abstract

Can agricultural development programs improve health-related outcomes? We exploit a spatial discontinuity in the coverage of a large-scale agricultural extension program in Uganda to causally identify its effects on malaria. We find that eligibility for the program reduced the proportion of household members with malaria by 8.9 percentage points, with children and pregnant women experiencing substantial improvements. An examination of the underlying mechanisms indicates that an increase in income and the resulting increase in the ownership and usage of bednets may have played a role. Taken together, these results signify the importance of financial constraints in investments for malaria prevention and the potential role that agricultural development can play in easing it.

Suggested Citation

  • Yao Pan & Saurabh Singhal, 2019. "Agricultural extension, intra-household allocation and malaria," Working Papers 2019-4, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2019-4
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Malaria; Intra-household Allocation; Agricultural Extension; Regression Discontinuity; Uganda;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services

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