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Long-Term Exposure To Malaria And Development: Disaggregate Evidence For Contemporaneous Africa

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  • Cervellati, Matteo
  • Esposito, Elena
  • Sunde, Uwe

Abstract

Malaria afflicts mankind since thousands of years and still imposes serious health impediments and considerable mortality on the affected populations. Empirical investigations of the role of malaria for economic development at the country level deliver mixed findings, however. We study the role of long-term malaria exposure on development today using disaggregate within-country variation for the whole of Africa with 1 × 1 degree cells as units of observation. Local development is measured by light density at night. Based on insights from epidemiology, which documents that genetic and acquired immunities reduce Malaria risk for adults in holoendemic areas, the effect is hypothesized to be nonlinear, with a peak for intermediate rather than high exposure to the pathogen. The empirical findings support this hypothesis. The results also suggest the existence of a significant moderating effect of genetic immunities measured by the prevalence of the sickle cell trait in the population.

Suggested Citation

  • Cervellati, Matteo & Esposito, Elena & Sunde, Uwe, 2017. "Long-Term Exposure To Malaria And Development: Disaggregate Evidence For Contemporaneous Africa," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(1), pages 129-148, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:demeco:v:83:y:2017:i:1:p:129-148_12
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    Cited by:

    1. Sunde, Uwe & Cervellati, Matteo & Esposito, Elena & Valmori, Simona, 2016. "Malaria Risk and Civil Violence," CEPR Discussion Papers 11496, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Cervellati, Matteo & Esposito, Elena & Sunde, Uwe & Yuan, Song, 2022. "Malaria and Chinese economic activities in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    3. Elena Esposito, 2018. "Side Effects of Immunity: The Rise of African Slavery in the US South," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 18.07, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    4. Kuschnig, Nikolas & Vashold, Lukas, 2023. "The economic impacts of malaria: past, present, and future," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 338, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    5. Birchenall, Javier A., 2023. "Disease and diversity in long-term economic development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General

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