View metadata

dc.titleDoes Access to Better Water and Sanitation Infrastructure Improve Child Outcomes? Evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean
dc.contributor.authorSchady, Norbert
dc.contributor.orgunitSocial Sector
dc.coveragePanama
dc.coverageGuatemala
dc.coverageEcuador
dc.coverageCosta Rica
dc.coverageBolivia
dc.coverageBrazil
dc.coverageUruguay
dc.coverageColombia
dc.coverageMexico
dc.coverageHonduras
dc.coverageChile
dc.coverageEl Salvador
dc.coverageDominican Republic
dc.coverageArgentina
dc.coverageJamaica
dc.coveragePeru
dc.coverageParaguay
dc.coverageThe Caribbean
dc.coverageSouth America
dc.coverageLatin America and the Caribbean
dc.coverageLatin America
dc.coverageCentral America
dc.date.available2015-12-30T00:00:00
dc.date.issue2015-06-04T00:00:00
dc.description.abstractI review the evidence on access to water and sanitation infrastructure and child outcomes In Latin America. I show that there are large differences in access across countries and, within countries, between households living in urban and rural areas. Many papers in the public health literature show associationsbetween access to clean water sources or improved sanitation, on the one hand, and child outcomes like the incidence of diarrhea or child development, on the other. These papers provide only weak evidence of causality. Stronger evidence comes from a handful of papers that exploit historical accidents in the extension of coverage of water and sanitation infrastructure, although the evidence is limited to child mortality, rather than morbidity, nutritional status, and development. Also, it has generally not been possible to separately estimate the effects of changes in quantity and quality of water because piped water frequently improves both. Given the paucity of the evidence to date, there would be large returns to evaluations that had credibly exogenous sources of variation in access to piped water or sanitation, and traced out the benefits to children, including surviving children, over time.
dc.format.extent30
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0011714
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Does-Access-to-Better-Water-and-Sanitation-Infrastructure-Improve-Child-Outcomes-Evidence-from-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.mediumAdobe PDF
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectSanitation Service
dc.subjectWater Quality
dc.subjectWater Supply and Sanitation
dc.subjectChild Development
dc.subjectDisease
dc.subjectDrinking Water
dc.subjectDrinking Water Supply
dc.subjectWater Supply
dc.subjectSewage
dc.subjectEvaluation
dc.subjectWater Use
dc.subject.jelcodeI12 - Health Behavior
dc.subject.jelcodeI31 - General Welfare, Well-Being
dc.subject.jelcodeJ13 - Fertility • Family Planning • Child Care • Children • Youth
dc.subject.jelcodeO1 - Economic Development
dc.subject.jelcodeO29 - Development Planning and Policy: Other
dc.subject.keywordsSanitation, Water supply, Child development, Children Health and hygiene, Latin America, the Caribbean
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberWorking Papers
idb.operationRG-K1324
Return to Publication