Urban Water Disinfection and Mortality Decline in Developing Countries

Working Paper No. 23239 Historically, improvements in the quality of municipal drinking water made important contributions to mortality decline in wealthy countries. However, water disinfection often does not produce equivalent benefits in developing countries today. We investigate this puzzle by an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:NBER Working Paper Series 2017-03, p.23239
Main Authors: Bhalotra, Sonia R, Diaz-Cayeros, Alberto, Miller, Grant, Miranda, Alfonso, Venkataramani, Atheendar S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child mortality
Cholera
Developing countries
Disease
Disinfection & disinfectants
Drinking water
Economic theory
Infrastructure
International
LDCs
Low income groups
Mortality
Population
Sanitation
Studies
Urban areas
Water purification
Water quality
Water supply
Water utilities
Waterborne diseases
Working papers
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Summary:Working Paper No. 23239 Historically, improvements in the quality of municipal drinking water made important contributions to mortality decline in wealthy countries. However, water disinfection often does not produce equivalent benefits in developing countries today. We investigate this puzzle by analyzing an abrupt, large-scale municipal water disinfection program in Mexico in 1991 that increased the share of Mexico's population receiving chlorinated water from 55% to 85% within six months. We find that on average, the program was associated with a 37 to 48% decline in diarrheal disease deaths among children (over 23,000 averted deaths per year) and was highly cost-effective (about $1,310 per life year saved). However, we also find evidence that age (degradation) of water pipes and lack of complementary sanitation infrastructure play important roles in attenuating these benefits. Countervailing behavioral responses, although
ISSN:0898-2937
DOI:10.3386/w23239