IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/roafes/v99y2018i2d10.1007_s41130-018-0069-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determinants of the avoidance behaviour of households to cope with unsafe drinking water: case study of Douala and Yaoundé in Cameroon

Author

Listed:
  • Armand Totouom

    (University of Dschang)

  • Sostaine Romuald Fouéka Tagne

    (University of Yaoundé II)

  • Jonas Ngouhouo Poufoun

    (BETA, Université Lorraine, INRA, AgroParisTech)

Abstract

Despite the effectiveness of home water treatment methods, this practice is not yet widespread in many countries, including Cameroon. This study analyses the determinants of the avoidance behaviour of households to cope with unsafe drinking water in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé in Cameroon. The study is based on primary data collected in 2013 from a sample of 789 households in the two cities. The nested logit model is used for empirical analysis. The main findings of the estimated models are as follows: the decision to improve water quality decreases when the head of the household is a man and when there is no child in the household. Furthermore, it decreases when wealth and the level of education are low. In addition, the probability of using a given avoidance method decreases with its cost of adoption and increases with its perceived efficiency (that is, the favourable opinion on the quality of water after treatment). The implications for public policies are discussed in this paper.

Suggested Citation

  • Armand Totouom & Sostaine Romuald Fouéka Tagne & Jonas Ngouhouo Poufoun, 2018. "Determinants of the avoidance behaviour of households to cope with unsafe drinking water: case study of Douala and Yaoundé in Cameroon," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 99(2), pages 121-148, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:roafes:v:99:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s41130-018-0069-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s41130-018-0069-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s41130-018-0069-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s41130-018-0069-6?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 look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jyotsna Jalan & E. Somanathan & Saraswata Choudhuri, "undated". "Awareness and the Demand for Environmental Quality: Drinking Water in Urban India," Working papers 32, The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics.
    2. Lanz, Bruno & Provins, Allan, 2017. "Using averting expenditures to estimate the demand for public goods: Combining objective and perceived quality," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 20-35.
    3. Christophe Bontemps & Céline Nauges, 2016. "The Impact of Perceptions in Averting-decision Models: An Application of the Special Regressor Method to Drinking Water Choices," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(1), pages 297-313.
    4. Nauges, Céline & Van Den Berg, Caroline, 2009. "Perception of Health Risk and Averting Behavior: An Analysis of Household Water Consumption in Southwest Sri Lanka," TSE Working Papers 09-139, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    5. Jalan, Jyotsna & Somanathan, E., 2008. "The importance of being informed: Experimental evidence on demand for environmental quality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 14-28, August.
    6. Mirajul Haq & Usman Mustafa & Iftikhar Ahmad, 2007. "Household s Willingness to Pay for Safe Drinking Water: A Case Study of Abbottabad District," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 46(4), pages 1137-1153.
    7. Larson, Bruce A. & Gnedenko, Ekaterina D., 1999. "Avoiding health risks from drinking water in Moscow: An empirical analysis," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 565-581, October.
    8. Meha Jain & Yili Lim & Javier A Arce-Nazario & María Uriarte, 2014. "Perceptional and Socio-Demographic Factors Associated with Household Drinking Water Management Strategies in Rural Puerto Rico," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-8, February.
    9. Dasgupta, Purnamita, 2004. "Valuing health damages from water pollution in urban Delhi, India: a health production function approach," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 83-106, February.
    10. Jalan, Jyotsna & Somanathan, E. & Chaudhuri, Saraswata, 2009. "Awareness and the demand for environmental quality: survey evidence on drinking water in urban India," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(6), pages 665-692, December.
    11. Kerry Smith, V. & Desvousges, William H., 1986. "Averting behavior: Does it exist?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 291-296.
    12. Unknown, 1986. "Letters," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 1(4), pages 1-9.
    13. William F. Vásquez & Pallab Mozumder & Dina Franceschi, 2015. "Water Quality, Household Perceptions and Averting Behavior: Evidence from Nicaragua," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(04), pages 1-21, December.
    14. Charles W. Abdalla & Brian A. Roach & Donald J. Epp, 1992. "Valuing Environmental Quality Changes Using Averting Expenditures: An Application to Groundwater Contamination," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 68(2), pages 163-169.
    15. Bryan J. Hubbell & Jeffrey L. Jordan, 2000. "Joint Production and Averting Expenditure Measures of Willingness to Pay: Do Water Expenditures Really Measure Avoidance Costs?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(2), pages 427-437.
    16. Jakus, Paul M. & Shaw, W. Douglass & Nguyen, To N. & Walker, Mark, 2009. "Risk Perceptions of Arsenic in Tap Water and Consumption of Bottled Water," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49221, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. John C. Whitehead, 2006. "Improving Willingness to Pay Estimates for Quality Improvements through Joint Estimation with Quality Perceptions," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(1), pages 100-111, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fotio, Hervé Kaffo & Nguea, Stéphane Mbiankeu, 2022. "Access to water and sanitation in Africa: Does globalization matter?," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 79-91.

    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. repec:aer:wpaper:345 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Samrat B. Kunwar & Alok K. Bohara, 2019. "Water Quality Avoidance Behavior: Bridging the Gap between Perception and Reality," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(02), pages 1-33, November.
    3. Lanz, Bruno & Provins, Allan, 2017. "Using averting expenditures to estimate the demand for public goods: Combining objective and perceived quality," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 20-35.
    4. Rajapakshe, Sisira & Termansen, Mette & Paavola, Jouni, 2022. "Valuing Water Service Improvements through Revealed Preference: Averting Behaviour Method," MPRA Paper 115623, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Bruno Lanz & Allan Provins, 2014. "The demand for tap water quality: Survey evidence on water hardness and aesthetic quality," CIES Research Paper series 23-2014, Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute.
    6. Bruno Lanz, 2015. "Avertive expenditures, endogenous quality perception, and the demand for public goods: An instrumental variable approach," CIES Research Paper series 36-2015, Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute.
    7. Armand, Totouom Fotue Luc, 2016. "Determinants of household avoidance behavior to cope with unsafe drinking water: case study of Cameroon," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 249333, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    8. Pape, Andreas Duus & Seo, Misuk, 2015. "Reports of Water Quality Violations Induce Consumers to Buy Bottled Water," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 44(1), pages 1-16, April.
    9. repec:gii:ciesrp:cies_rp_36rev is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Patrick Lloyd-Smith & Craig Schram & Wiktor Adamowicz & Diane Dupont, 2018. "Endogeneity of Risk Perceptions in Averting Behavior Models," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 69(2), pages 217-246, February.
    11. Anna-Maria Aksan & William F. Vásquez, 2019. "Quality Perceptions and Water Treatment Behavior at the Household Level," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(03), pages 1-33, July.
    12. William F. Vásquez & Pallab Mozumder & Dina Franceschi, 2015. "Water Quality, Household Perceptions and Averting Behavior: Evidence from Nicaragua," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(04), pages 1-21, December.
    13. Jessoe, Katrina, 2013. "Improved source, improved quality? Demand for drinking water quality in rural India," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 460-475.
    14. Daniel, D. & Pande, Saket & Rietveld, Luuk, 2022. "Endogeneity in water use behaviour across case studies of household water treatment adoption in developing countries," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    15. Marta Suárez-Varela & Ariel Dinar, 2020. "The Role of Curtailment Versus Efficiency on Spillovers Among Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Evidence from Two Towns in Granada, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-24, January.
    16. Satarupa Chakravarty & Sukanya Das & Saudamini Das, 2021. "Unreliable Public Water Supply and Coping Mechanisms of Low-Income Households in Delhi," IEG Working Papers 448, Institute of Economic Growth.
    17. Onjala, Joseph & Ndiritu, Simon Wagura & Stage, Jesper, 2013. "Risk Perception, Choice of Drinking Water, and Water Treatment: Evidence from Kenyan Towns," RFF Working Paper Series dp-13-10-efd, Resources for the Future.
    18. E. Somanathan, 2010. "Effects of Information on Environmental Quality in Developing Countries," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(2), pages 275-292, Summer.
    19. repec:gii:giihei:ciesrp:cies_rp_27 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Chiara Ravetti & Yana Popp Jin & Mu Quan & Zhang Shiqiu & Timothy Swanson, 2014. "Air pollution in Urban Beijing: The role of Government-controlled information," CIES Research Paper series 27-2014, Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute.
    21. Jason F. Shogren & Tommy Stamland, 2005. "Self-Protection and Value of Statistical Life Estimation," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 81(1).
    22. Iftikhar Ahmad & Miraj ul Haq & Abdul Sattar, 2010. "Factors Determining Public Demand for Safe Drinking Water (A Case Study of District Peshawar)," Development Economics Working Papers 22826, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    23. Muhammad Rahman & Sher Ali & Naveed Hayat, 2022. "Households Health Cost from Water Borne Diseases in District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan," iRASD Journal of Economics, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 4(4), pages 633-646, December.

    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:spr:roafes:v:99:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s41130-018-0069-6. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.