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The long road to health: Healthcare utilization impacts of a road pavement policy in rural India

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  • Aggarwal, Shilpa

Abstract

Despite demand-stimulation efforts, coverage rates of many essential health services remain low in developing countries, suggesting that there may be binding supply constraints, such as poor access to healthcare facilities. This paper utilizes quasi-random variation in road-pavement intensity to study the impact of improved access on adoption of reproductive health services. I find that road construction led to more institutional antenatal visits and deliveries, which translated into better medical care and vaccination coverage, with larger gains for girls. Better ante-natal care resulted in fewer miscarriages, although much of this decline is due to delayed, rather than averted mortality as infant mortality went up. Overall mortality, including in-utero, stillbirths, and during infancy, is unimpacted. Most gains in natal and ante-natal care accrue from repeat visits by existing patients, and some from new entrants into the formal health sector. Evidence suggests that beneficiaries travel farther to see better providers.

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  • Aggarwal, Shilpa, 2021. "The long road to health: Healthcare utilization impacts of a road pavement policy in rural India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:151:y:2021:i:c:s0304387821000468
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102667
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    Cited by:

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    4. Basistha, Ahana & Dhillon, Amrita & Chaudhuri, Arka Roy, 2024. "Elections and Rural Road Construction: Evidence from India," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 712, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    5. Shen, Chi & Lai, Sha & Deng, Qiwei & Cao, Dan & Zhao, Dantong & Zhao, Yaxin & Zhou, Zhongliang & Dong, Wanyue & Chen, Xi, 2023. "Do Primary Healthcare Facilities in More Remote Areas Provide More Medical Services? Spatial Evidence from Rural Western China," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1309, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Abu-Qarn, Aamer & Lichtman-Sadot, Shirlee, 2021. "Older Adult Health Following Greater Access to Secondary Health Care: Evidence from Bus Service Introductions to Arab Towns in Israel," IZA Discussion Papers 14490, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Aparajita Dasgupta & Anahita Karandikar & Devvrat Raghav, 2024. "Road Access, Fertility, and Child Health in Rural India," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 50(1), pages 117-147, March.
    8. Abhishek Dureja & Digvijay S. Negi, 2024. "Birth Order Effects in Maternal Health-Seeking Behavior: Evidence from India," Working Papers 118, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    9. Abu-Qarn, Aamer & Lichtman-Sadot, Shirlee, 2022. "Can greater access to secondary health care decrease health inequality? Evidence from bus line introduction to Arab towns in Israel," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    10. Ayona Bhattacharjee & Jay Dev Dubey, 2024. "Can Employment Empower Women in Rural India," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 43(1), pages 34-49, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Roads; Healthcare; Ante-natal care; Institutional births; Vaccination; Infant mortality; Fetal mortality; PMGSY;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure

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