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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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 |
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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 |
_version_ |
1764478477517455360 |