Income and Health in Tanzania. An Instrumental Variable Approach

Type Journal Article - World Development
Title Income and Health in Tanzania. An Instrumental Variable Approach
Author(s)
Volume 66
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2015
Page numbers 500-515
URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14002812
Abstract
There is a substantial debate over the direction of the causal relation between income and health. This is important for our understanding of the health production process and for the policy debate over improving healthcare. We instrument income with rainfall measurements by matching satellite information on timing and positioning of 21 rainfall stations to longitudinal data (1991–94) of over 4,000 individuals in 51 villages in Tanzania. A 10% increase in income reduces the number of illnesses by 0.02. We also find that a 10% increase in income implies an increase of about 0.1 vaccinations of children under six.

Related studies

»