Mosquitoes: The Long-Term Effects of Malaria Eradication in India

40 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 2007 Last revised: 31 Dec 2022

See all articles by David M. Cutler

David M. Cutler

Harvard University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Winnie Fung

Wheaton College

Michael Kremer

Harvard University - Department of Economics; Brookings Institution; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Center for Global Development; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Monica Singhal

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Tom S. Vogl

Harvard University - Department of Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 2007

Abstract

We examine the effects of malaria on educational attainment and income by exploiting geographic variation in malaria prevalence in India prior to a nationwide eradication program in the 1950s. We find that the program led to modest increases in income for prime age men. This finding is robust to using very localized sources of geographic variation and to instrumenting for pre-eradication prevalence with climate factors. We do not observe improvements in income for women, suggesting that observed effects are likely driven by increased labor market productivity. We find no evidence of increased educational attainment for men, and mixed evidence for women.

Suggested Citation

Cutler, David M. and Fung, Winnie and Kremer, Michael R. and Singhal, Monica and Vogl, Tom S., Mosquitoes: The Long-Term Effects of Malaria Eradication in India (October 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w13539, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1024142

David M. Cutler (Contact Author)

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Tom S. Vogl

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