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Village sanitation and children's human capital : evidence from a randomized experiment by the Maharashtra government

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  • Hammer, Jeffrey
  • Spears, Dean

Abstract

Open defecation is exceptionally widespread in India, a county with puzzlingly high rates of child stunting. This paper reports a randomized controlled trial of a village-level sanitation program, implemented in one district by the government of Maharashtra. The program caused a large but plausible average increase in child height (95 percent confidence interval [0.04 to 0.61] standard deviations), which is an important marker of human capital. The results demonstrate sanitation externalities: an effect even on children in households that did not adopt latrines. Unusually, surveyors also collected data in districts where the government planned but ultimately did not conduct an experiment, permitting analysis of the importance of the set eligible for randomization.

Suggested Citation

  • Hammer, Jeffrey & Spears, Dean, 2013. "Village sanitation and children's human capital : evidence from a randomized experiment by the Maharashtra government," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6580, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6580
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    13. McKenzie, David, 2012. "Beyond baseline and follow-up: The case for more T in experiments," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 210-221.
    14. Dean Spears, 2012. "How much international variation in child height can sanitation explain?," Working Papers 1438, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing..
    15. Martin Ravallion, 2012. "Fighting Poverty One Experiment at a Time: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty : Review Essay," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 103-114, March.
    16. Dean Spears, 2012. "How much international variation in child height can sanitation explain?," Working Papers 1436, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
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    Cited by:

    1. Arnold,Benjamin Ford & Briceno,Bertha & Colford Jr.,John M. & Gertler,Paul J. & Patil, Sumeet R. & Salvatore,Alicia Link, 2013. "A randomized, controlled study of a rural sanitation behavior change program in Madhya Pradesh, India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6702, The World Bank.
    2. Dean Spears, 2012. "How much international variation in child height can sanitation explain?," Working Papers 1438, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing..
    3. Michael Geruso & Dean Spears, 2018. "Neighborhood Sanitation and Infant Mortality," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 125-162, April.
    4. Augsburg, Britta & Rodríguez-Lesmes, Paul Andrés, 2018. "Sanitation and child health in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 22-39.
    5. Ray, Rita & Datta, Rajlakshmi, 2017. "Do separate female toilets in primary and upper primary schools improve female enrollment? A case study from India," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 263-273.
    6. Mulmi, Prajula & Block, Steven A. & Shively, Gerald E. & Masters, William A., 2016. "Climatic conditions and child height: Sex-specific vulnerability and the protective effects of sanitation and food markets in Nepal," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 63-75.
    7. Cameron, Lisa A. & Olivia, Susan & Shah, Manisha, 2015. "Initial Conditions Matter: Social Capital and Participatory Development," IZA Discussion Papers 9563, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Patrick Mullen & Divya Nair & Jayati Nigam & Katyayni Seth, 2016. "Urban Health Advantages and Penalties in India," World Bank Publications - Reports 24025, The World Bank Group.
    9. repec:pri:cheawb:spears%20--%20height%20and%20sanitation%201-17-13 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Jeffrey S. Hammer, 2013. "Balancing Market and Government Failure in Service Delivery," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 18(Special E), pages 1-19, September.
    11. Das, Ashis & Friedman, Jed & Kandpal, Eeshani, 2014. "Does involvement of local NGOs enhance public service delivery ? cautionary evidence from a Malaria-prevention evaluation in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6931, The World Bank.
    12. repec:pri:rpdevs:spears_height_and_sanitation is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Maria Laura Alzua & Amy Janel Pickering & Habiba Djebbari & Carolina Lopez & Juan Camilo Cardenas & Maria Adelaida Lopera & Nicolas Osbert & Massa Coulibaly, 2015. "Impact Evaluation of Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in Rural Mali," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0191, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    14. Nie, Peng & Rammohan, Anu & Gwozdz, Wencke & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2016. "Developments in Undernutrition in Indian Children Under Five: A Decompositional Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 9893, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Dean Spears, 2012. "How much international variation in child height can sanitation explain?," Working Papers 1438, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing..
    16. Cameron, Lisa & Chase, Claire & Haque, Sabrina & Joseph, George & Pinto, Rebekah & Wang, Qiao, 2021. "Childhood stunting and cognitive effects of water and sanitation in Indonesia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    17. McWay, Ryan & Prabhakar, Pallavi & Ellis, Ayo, 2022. "The Impact of Early Childhood Development Interventions on Children’s Health in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 14/2022, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Disease Control&Prevention; Population Policies; Hygiene Promotion and Social Marketing; Early Child and Children's Health;
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