IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeeman/v86y2017icp93-120.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pesticide use and health outcomes: Evidence from agricultural water pollution in China

Author

Listed:
  • Lai, Wangyang

Abstract

By linking provincial pesticide usage reports from several Chinese statistical yearbooks (1998-2011) with the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (1998-2011), this study provides new evidence that pesticides adversely affect health outcomes via drinking water exposure. We follow a difference-in-difference-in-differences framework to compare health outcomes between people who drink surface water and ground water in regions with different intensities of rice pesticide use before and after 2004, when China shifted from taxing agriculture to subsidizing agricultural programs. The results indicate that a 10% increase in rice pesticide use unfavorably alters a key medical disability index (Activities of Daily Living or ADL) by 1% for rural residents 65 and older. This is equivalent to 2.13 and 0.64 million dollars in medical and family care costs, respectively. Further, we provide suggestive evidence of an intergenerational transfer of caring burden by showing pesticide use reduces out-migration of the offspring in affected households. The results are robust to a variety of robustness checks and falsification tests.

Suggested Citation

  • Lai, Wangyang, 2017. "Pesticide use and health outcomes: Evidence from agricultural water pollution in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 93-120.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:86:y:2017:i:c:p:93-120
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2017.05.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0095069617303169
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jeem.2017.05.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Greenstone & Rema Hanna, 2014. "Environmental Regulations, Air and Water Pollution, and Infant Mortality in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3038-3072, October.
    2. Alam, Shamma Adeeb & Wolff, Hendrik, 2016. "Do Pesticide Sellers Make Farmers Sick? Health, Information, and Adoption of Technology in Bangladesh," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 41(1), pages 1-34, January.
    3. Verbrugge, Lois M. & Jette, Alan M., 1994. "The disablement process," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Avraham Ebenstein, 2012. "The Consequences of Industrialization: Evidence from Water Pollution and Digestive Cancers in China," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 186-201, February.
    5. Jikun Huang & Fangbin Qiao & Linxiu Zhang & Scott Rozelle, 2000. "Farm Pesticide, Rice Production, and Human Health," EEPSEA Research Report rr2000051, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), revised May 2000.
    6. Brainerd, Elizabeth & Menon, Nidhiya, 2014. "Seasonal effects of water quality: The hidden costs of the Green Revolution to infant and child health in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 49-64.
    7. Chen, Ruijian & Huang, Jikun & Qiao, Fangbin, 2013. "Farmers' knowledge on pest management and pesticide use in Bt cotton production in china," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 15-24.
    8. Ibrahim Macharia & Dagmar Mithöfer & Hermann Waibel, 2013. "Pesticide handling practices by vegetable farmer in Kenya," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 887-902, August.
    9. Zhang, Jing, 2012. "The impact of water quality on health: Evidence from the drinking water infrastructure program in rural China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 122-134.
    10. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    11. A. Colin Cameron & Pravin K. Trivedi, 2010. "Microeconometrics Using Stata, Revised Edition," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, number musr, March.
    12. Zhang, Jing & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2016. "The long-run effects of treated water on education: The rural drinking water program in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 1-15.
    13. David M. Cutler & Kaushik Ghosh & Mary Beth Landrum, 2014. "Evidence for Significant Compression of Morbidity in the Elderly U.S. Population," NBER Chapters, in: Discoveries in the Economics of Aging, pages 21-51, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Michael Chernew & David M. Cutler & Kaushik Ghosh & Mary Beth Landrum, 2016. "Understanding the Improvement in Disability-Free Life Expectancy in the US Elderly Population," NBER Chapters, in: Insights in the Economics of Aging, pages 161-201, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Avraham Ebenstein & Jian Zhang & Margaret S. McMillan & Kevin Chen, 2011. "Chemical Fertilizer and Migration in China," NBER Working Papers 17245, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Kellogg, Ryan & Wolff, Hendrik, 2008. "Daylight time and energy: Evidence from an Australian experiment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 207-220, November.
    17. Fangbin Qiao & Jikun Huang & Linxiu Zhang & Scott Rozelle, 2012. "Pesticide use and farmers' health in China's rice production," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(4), pages 468-484, November.
    18. Xiaoman Yu & Yong Geng & Peter Heck & Bing Xue, 2015. "A Review of China’s Rural Water Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-20, May.
    19. David Cutler & Grant Miller, 2005. "The role of public health improvements in health advances: The twentieth-century United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 42(1), pages 1-22, February.
    20. Gale, Fred, 2013. "Growth and Evolution in China's Agricultural Support Policies," Economic Research Report 155385, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    21. Guralnik, J.M. & Alecxih, L. & Branch, L.G. & Wiener, J.M., 2002. "Medical and long-term care costs when older persons become more dependent," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(8), pages 1244-1245.
    22. Liu, Elaine M. & Huang, JiKun, 2013. "Risk preferences and pesticide use by cotton farmers in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 202-215.
    23. Liu, Elaine M. & Huang, JiKun, 2013. "Risk preferences and pesticide use by cotton farmers in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 202-215.
    24. Judith Banister & David E. Bloom & Larry Rosenberg, 2012. "Population Aging and Economic Growth in China," International Economic Association Series, in: Masahiko Aoki & Jinglian Wu (ed.), The Chinese Economy, chapter 6, pages 114-149, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Li & Xiao, Yun, 2023. "Beyond boiling: The effect of in utero exposure to treated tap water on childhood health," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Brainerd, Elizabeth & Menon, Nidhiya, 2014. "Seasonal effects of water quality: The hidden costs of the Green Revolution to infant and child health in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 49-64.
    3. Elizabeth Brainerd, 2012. "Seasonal Effects of Water Quality on Infant and Child Health in India," Working Papers id:5119, eSocialSciences.
    4. Na Lu & Kira M. Villa, 2022. "Agricultural support and contaminated spillovers: The effects of agricultural water pollution on adult health in China," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 788-821, June.
    5. Siqi Zheng & Matthew E. Kahn, 2013. "Understanding China's Urban Pollution Dynamics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(3), pages 731-772, September.
    6. Pan, Dan & Zhang, Ning & Kong, Fanbin, 2021. "Does it matter who gives information? The impact of information sources on farmers’ pesticide use in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Patricia Augier & Marion Dovis & Charles Lai-Tong, 2016. "Better Access to Water, Better Children's Health: A Mirage?," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(1), pages 70-92, January.
    8. Sun, S. & Zhang, C. & Hu, R., 2018. "Determinants and Overuse of Pesticides in Grain Production: A Comparison of Rice, Maize and Wheat in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276978, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Pan, Dan & Chen, Huan & Zhang, Ning & Kong, Fanbin, 2023. "Do livestock environmental regulations reduce water pollution in China?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    10. Keya Sengupta, 2016. "Water and health for sustainable development," African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1), pages 66-101.
    11. Leandro Prados de la Escosura, 2021. "Augmented human development in the age of globalization," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(4), pages 946-975, November.
    12. Aggarwal, Khushboo & Barua, Rashmi & Vidal-Fernandez, Marian, 2024. "Still Waters Run Deep: Groundwater Contamination and Education Outcomes in India," IZA Discussion Papers 16863, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. David A Keiser & Joseph S Shapiro, 2019. "Consequences of the Clean Water Act and the Demand for Water Quality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(1), pages 349-396.
    14. Feng, Shuaizhang & Han, Yujie & Qiu, Huanguang, 2021. "Does crop insurance reduce pesticide usage? Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    15. David A. Keiser & Joseph K. Shapiro, 2018. "Consequences of the Clean Water Act and the Demand for Water Quality," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 17-wp571, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    16. Xuhang Shen & Ziqi Wang & Shi Li, 2023. "Access to Piped Water and Off-Farm Work Participation: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    17. Chabé-Ferret, Sylvain & Reynaud, Arnaud & Tène, Eva, 2021. "Water Quality, Policy Diffusion Effects and Farmers’ Behavior," TSE Working Papers 21-1229, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    18. Garg, Teevrat & Hamilton, Stuart E. & Hochard, Jacob P. & Kresch, Evan Plous & Talbot, John, 2018. "(Not so) gently down the stream: River pollution and health in Indonesia," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 35-53.
    19. Lee, Guenwoo & Suzuki, Aya & Vu, Hoang Nam, 2018. "Comparison of Targeting Methods for the Diffusion of Farming Practices: Evidence from Shrimp Producers in Viet Nam," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274043, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Prados de la Escosura, Leandro, 2023. "Health, income, and the preston curve: A long view," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    I1; Q1; Q5; Pesticide; Drinking water; Public health; Triple difference estimator; Medical costs; Family care burden; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • Q1 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:86:y:2017:i:c:p:93-120. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622870 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.