Cost-Effective Prevention of Diarrheal Diseases: A Critical Review

This paper critically reviews the existing research on the cost-effective prevention and treatment of diarrheal diseases, and identifies research priorities in this area aimed at finding ways to reduce the diarrheal disease burden. In contrast to the empirical knowledge base that exists for traditional child health programs to reduce diarrheal morbidity and mortality, evidence on the relative effectiveness and costeffectiveness of various environmental health interventions is limited and subject to significant methodological concerns. There is a limited understanding of the determinants of longterm water and sanitation technology adoption and behavior change at the individual level. Even less is known about how collective action problems in water and sanitation infrastructure maintenance can be overcome. An agenda for future research includes evaluating alternative transmission interruption mechanisms, improving understanding of the determinants of individual-level technology adoption in the water and sanitation sector, and assessing the quality of infrastructure maintenance under different management schemes.Diarrheal Diseases, Global Health,

LOCAL PUBLIC GOODS AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY: EVIDENCE FROM THE IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT

This paper uses county-level data from California to test whether ethnic fragmentation and other measures of diversity and social capital are systematically related to spending on productive local public goods that affect rural quality of life. The specific focus of this paper is the impact of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, which brought about 400,000 new immigrants to California, on demographic composition in that state.Public Economics,

Being Surveyed Can Change Later Behavior and Related Parameter Estimates

Does completing a household survey change the later behavior of those surveyed? In three field studies of health and two of microlending, we randomly assigned subjects to be surveyed about health and/or household finances and then measured subsequent use of a related product with data that does not rely on subjects\u27 self-reports. In the three health experiments, we find that being surveyed increases use of water treatment products and take-up of medical insurance. Frequent surveys on reported diarrhea also led to biased estimates of the impact of improved source water quality. In two microlending studies, we do not find an effect of being surveyed on borrowing behavior. The results suggest that limited attention could play an important but context-dependent role in consumer choice, with the implication that researchers should reconsider whether, how, and how much to survey their subjects

Spring Cleaning: Rural Water Impacts, Valuation and Property Rights Institutions

In many societies, social norms create common property rights in natural resources, limiting incentives for private investment. This paper uses a randomized evaluation in Kenya to measure the health impacts of investments to improve source water quality through spring protection, estimate the value that households place on spring protection, and simulate the welfare impacts of alternative water property rights norms and institutions, including common property, freehold private property, and alternative “Lockean” property rights norms. We find that infrastructure investments reduce fecal contamination by 66% at naturally occurring springs, cutting child diarrhea by one quarter. While households increase their use of protected springs, travel-cost based revealed preference estimates of households’ valuations are only one-half stated preference valuations and are much smaller than levels implied by health planners’ typical valuations of child mortality, consistent with models in which the demand for health is highly income elastic. Simulations suggest that, at current income levels, private property norms would generate little additional investment while imposing large static costs due to spring owners’ local market power, but that private property norms might function better than common property at higher income levels. Alternative institutions, such as “modified Lockean” property rights, government investment or vouchers for improved water, could yield higher social welfare.

LOCAL PUBLIC GOODS AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY: EVIDENCE FROM THE IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT

This paper uses county-level data from California to test whether ethnic fragmentation and other measures of diversity and social capital are systematically related to spending on productive local public goods that affect rural quality of life. The specific focus of this paper is the impact of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, which brought about 400,000 new immigrants to California, on demographic composition in that state

Managing Environmental Risks through Private Sector Cooperation: Cooperation: Theory, Experience and a Case Study of the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices

There is growing interest in voluntary agreements as an economic policy tool for managing environmental risks. Numerous studies have been published about the theory of such arrangements, how they work, and what they accomplish. They demonstrate that voluntary agreements can create value for both regulators and firms. Little has been written, however, that analyzes various voluntary arrangements in the winegrowing sector. The evidence accumulated from other sectors indicates that efforts in the winegrowing sector may be following an appropriate path for attaining management objectives. The California Sustainable Winegrowing Practices (SWP) project indicates a number of strategies that may be useful in developing voluntary agreements in other regions. The recommendations include using an integrated approach with the initiative from the bottom toward the top, involving interest groups early in the process, and evaluating the need for a certification program

Managing Environmental Risks through Private Sector Cooperation: Cooperation: Theory, Experience and a Case Study of the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices

There is growing interest in voluntary agreements as an economic policy tool for managing environmental risks. Numerous studies have been published about the theory of such arrangements, how they work, and what they accomplish. They demonstrate that voluntary agreements can create value for both regulators and firms. Little has been written, however, that analyzes various voluntary arrangements in the winegrowing sector. The evidence accumulated from other sectors indicates that efforts in the winegrowing sector may be following an appropriate path for attaining management objectives. The California Sustainable Winegrowing Practices (SWP) project indicates a number of strategies that may be useful in developing voluntary agreements in other regions. The recommendations include using an integrated approach with the initiative from the bottom toward the top, involving interest groups early in the process, and evaluating the need for a certification program.Managing, Environmental risks, Winegrowing, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy,