Chris Blattman

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Does malaria explain cross-national differences in income?

At least a little, say three new papers that look at malaria eradication programs in history. From India:

We find that the program led to modest increases in household per capita consumption for prime age men, and the effects for men are larger than those for women in most specifications. We find no evidence of increased educational attainment for men and mixed evidence for women.

From Sri Lanka and Paraguay:

eradication increased years of educational attainment and literacy.

And from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and the US:

Relative to non-malarious areas, cohorts born after eradication had higher income as adults than the preceding generation. These cross-cohort changes coincided with childhood exposure to the campaigns rather than to pre-existing trends. Estimates suggest a substantial, though not predominant, role for malaria in explaining cross-region differences in income.

One Response

  1. What? Disease burdens can affect income *other* than through institutions? Can we finally stop citing Acemoglu, Johnson & Robinson (2001)?

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