The Nitrogen Legacy : The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital

The fallout of nitrogen pollution is considered one of the largest global externalities facing the world, impacting air, water, soil, and human health. This paper combines data from the Demographic and Health Survey data set across India, Vietnam,...

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Main Authors: Zaveri, Esha, Russ, Jason, Desbureaux, Sebastien, Damania, Richard, Rodella, Aude-Sophie, Ribeiro, Giovanna
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/427991581022015021/The-Nitrogen-Legacy-The-Long-Term-Effects-of-Water-Pollution-on-Human-Capital
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33319
id okr-10986-33319
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-333192022-09-20T00:13:17Z The Nitrogen Legacy : The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital Zaveri, Esha Russ, Jason Desbureaux, Sebastien Damania, Richard Rodella, Aude-Sophie Ribeiro, Giovanna WATER POLLUTION HUMAN CAPITAL STAGES OF LIFE DRINKING WATER HEALTH NITROGEN POLLUTION DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY STUNTING The fallout of nitrogen pollution is considered one of the largest global externalities facing the world, impacting air, water, soil, and human health. This paper combines data from the Demographic and Health Survey data set across India, Vietnam, and 33 African countries to analyze the causal links between pollution exposure experienced during the very earliest stages of life and later-life health. The results show that pollution exposure experienced in the critical years of development—from birth until age three—is associated with decreased height as an adult, a well-known indicator of overall health and productivity, and is robust to several statistical checks. Because adult height is related to education, labor productivity, and income, this also implies a loss of earning potential. The analysis begins within an assessment in India, where the data are more available, and is then extended to geographic settings including Vietnam and 33 countries in Africa. The results are consistent and show that early-life exposure to nitrogen pollution in water can lower height-for-age scores during childhood in Vietnam and during infancy in Africa. These findings add to the evidence on the enduring consequences of water pollution and identify a critical area for policy intervention. 2020-02-13T16:39:06Z 2020-02-13T16:39:06Z 2020-02 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/427991581022015021/The-Nitrogen-Legacy-The-Long-Term-Effects-of-Water-Pollution-on-Human-Capital http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33319 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9143 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Africa East Asia and Pacific South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa India Vietnam
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic WATER POLLUTION
HUMAN CAPITAL
STAGES OF LIFE
DRINKING WATER
HEALTH
NITROGEN POLLUTION
DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY
STUNTING
spellingShingle WATER POLLUTION
HUMAN CAPITAL
STAGES OF LIFE
DRINKING WATER
HEALTH
NITROGEN POLLUTION
DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY
STUNTING
Zaveri, Esha
Russ, Jason
Desbureaux, Sebastien
Damania, Richard
Rodella, Aude-Sophie
Ribeiro, Giovanna
The Nitrogen Legacy : The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital
geographic_facet Africa
East Asia and Pacific
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
India
Vietnam
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9143
description The fallout of nitrogen pollution is considered one of the largest global externalities facing the world, impacting air, water, soil, and human health. This paper combines data from the Demographic and Health Survey data set across India, Vietnam, and 33 African countries to analyze the causal links between pollution exposure experienced during the very earliest stages of life and later-life health. The results show that pollution exposure experienced in the critical years of development—from birth until age three—is associated with decreased height as an adult, a well-known indicator of overall health and productivity, and is robust to several statistical checks. Because adult height is related to education, labor productivity, and income, this also implies a loss of earning potential. The analysis begins within an assessment in India, where the data are more available, and is then extended to geographic settings including Vietnam and 33 countries in Africa. The results are consistent and show that early-life exposure to nitrogen pollution in water can lower height-for-age scores during childhood in Vietnam and during infancy in Africa. These findings add to the evidence on the enduring consequences of water pollution and identify a critical area for policy intervention.
format Working Paper
author Zaveri, Esha
Russ, Jason
Desbureaux, Sebastien
Damania, Richard
Rodella, Aude-Sophie
Ribeiro, Giovanna
author_facet Zaveri, Esha
Russ, Jason
Desbureaux, Sebastien
Damania, Richard
Rodella, Aude-Sophie
Ribeiro, Giovanna
author_sort Zaveri, Esha
title The Nitrogen Legacy : The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital
title_short The Nitrogen Legacy : The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital
title_full The Nitrogen Legacy : The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital
title_fullStr The Nitrogen Legacy : The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital
title_full_unstemmed The Nitrogen Legacy : The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital
title_sort nitrogen legacy : the long-term effects of water pollution on human capital
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2020
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/427991581022015021/The-Nitrogen-Legacy-The-Long-Term-Effects-of-Water-Pollution-on-Human-Capital
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33319
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