E0041915

open access

Version of Record

Residential Segregation, Access to Piped Water, and Diarrhea among Children in Rural India

English (英語)

國民經濟雜誌

220(5)

1-21

神戸大学経済経営学会

2019-11-10

2020-12-02

We use variations of access to piped water based on caste segregation within a village to identify the effects of access to piped water on the incidence of diarrhea among children in rural India. By focusing on residential segregation, we also evaluate the externalities of using a common water source. The empirical results show that, on average, the positive externalities of public water taps outweigh the negative externalities. However, in districts with lower than median rainfall shocks, the benefits of having a public water tap vanish, and only individual piped water connections within the house help prevent diarrhea among children. In districts with better rainfall shocks, we find larger effects of having access to public water taps. We also find that these benefits accrue mainly to boys. However, the burden of seasonal and annual fluctuation of water availability is placed only on girls.

Rural India

紀要論文