Health and labor productivity : the economic impact of onchocercal skin disease

Abstract

Teams from two institutions studied the economic impact of health status on productivity and income. They studied whether onchocercal skin disease caused economic damage to the labor force at a coffee plantation in southwest Ethiopia, and how much. The research team estimated the daily wage equation for wage employees. Empirical analysis revealed that permanent male employees, the core of the plantation labor force, suffer significant losses in economic productivity (in the form of lower daily wages earned) as a result of onchocercal skin disease. Depending on the severity of onchocercal skin disease, and controlling for such factors as age, daily wages were 10 to 15 percent lower among those exhibiting skin-related problems.Environmental Economics&Policies,Disease Control&Prevention,Labor Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Public Health Promotion,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Youth and Governance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation