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Eradicating the disease of the empty granary: health, structural transformation, and intergenerational mobility in Ghana

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  • Conor Carney
  • Jon Denton-Schneider

Abstract

Guinea worm disease (GWD) was known as 'the disease of the empty granary' because it often incapacitated adult farmers for weeks during peak agricultural seasons. Using a difference-in-differences design, we show that its post-1989 eradication from Ghana increased agricultural productivity and women's paid employment and decreased child marriage rates. In the long run, adults who were children around 1990 are more likely to hold formal employment outside of agriculture, be literate, and live in urban areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Conor Carney & Jon Denton-Schneider, 2025. "Eradicating the disease of the empty granary: health, structural transformation, and intergenerational mobility in Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2025-111, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2025-111
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2025-111-eradicating-disease-empty-granary-health-structural-transformation-intergenerational-spillovers-Ghana.pdf
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