This paper examines the extent to which bed net usage is responsive to changes in malaria prevalence and whether indoor residual spraying crowds out bed net usage. We show that malaria prevalence increases the probability of sleeping under an insecticide treated net but the implied elasticities...

We discuss and review literature on the macroeconomic effects of epidemics and pandemics since the late 20th century. First, we cover the role of health in driving economic growth and well-being and discuss standard frameworks for assessing the economic burden of infectious diseases. Second, we...

In many African countries where malaria is endemic, this life-threatening disease is a leading cause of death. What role does education, in particular numeracy and literacy, play in malaria prevention and treatment-seeking? In this study we apply a birth cohort approach, which allows us to cover...

We exploit a spatial discontinuity in the coverage of an agricultural extension program in Uganda to causally identify its effects on malaria. We find that eligibility for the program reduced the incidence of malaria by 8.8 percentage points, with children and pregnant women experiencing most of...

We examine the extent to which recent declines in child mortality and fertility in Sub- Saharan Africa can be attributed to insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs). Exploiting the rapid increase in ITNs since the mid-2000s, we employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy to identify the...

We examine the extent to which recent declines in child mortality and fertility in Sub- Saharan Africa can be attributed to insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs). Exploiting the rapid increase in ITNs since the mid-2000s, we employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy to identify the...

Malaria potentially affects everyone in the tropics and sub-tropics, however, the poor and vulnerable are worse affected mainly due to the socio-economic constraints that confront them. In Ghana, the Upper West Region, which is the poorest, is one of the worse affected in terms of malaria...

We examine the extent to which recent declines in child mortality and fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa can be attributed to insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs). Exploiting the rapid increase in ITNs since the mid-2000s, we employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy to identify the...

Can information about the value of diagnostic tests improve provider practice and help patients recognize higher quality of care? In a randomized experiment at public clinics in Mali, health providers and patients received tailored information about the importance of rapid diagnostic tests...

Nationwide health interventions are difficult to evaluate as contemporaneous control groups do not exist and before-after approaches are usually infeasible. We propose an alternative semi-parametric estimator that is based on the assumption that the intervention has no direct effect on the...