Demand for Information on Environmental Health Risk, Mode of Delivery, and Behavioral Change : Evidence from Sonargaon, Bangladesh
Millions of villagers in Bangladesh are exposed to arsenic by drinking contaminated water from private wells. Testing for arsenic can encourage switching from unsafe wells to safer sources. This study describes results from a cluster randomized con...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/467691585057822017/Demand-for-Information-on-Environmental-Health-Risk-Mode-of-Delivery-and-Behavioral-Change-Evidence-from-Sonargaon-Bangladesh http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33486 |
| Summary: | Millions of villagers in Bangladesh are
exposed to arsenic by drinking contaminated water from
private wells. Testing for arsenic can encourage switching
from unsafe wells to safer sources. This study describes
results from a cluster randomized controlled trial conducted
in 112 villages in Bangladesh to evaluate the effectiveness
of different test selling schemes at inducing switching from
unsafe wells. At a price of about USD0.60, only one in four
households purchased a test. Sales were not increased by
informal inter-household agreements to share water from
wells found to be safe, or by visual reminders of well
status in the form of metal placards mounted on the well
pump. However, switching away from unsafe wells almost
doubled in response to agreements or placards relative to
the one in three proportion of households who switched away
from an unsafe well with simple individual sales. |
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