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Community matters: heterogenous impacts of a sanitation intervention

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Abramovsky

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Britta Augsburg

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Melanie Lührmann

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Royal Holloway, University of London)

  • Francisco Oteiza

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and EDePo @ Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Juan Pablo Rud

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Royal Holloway, University of London)

Abstract

We study the effectiveness of a community-level information intervention aimed at improving sanitation using a cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Nigerian communities. The intervention, Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), is currently part of national sanitation policy in more than 25 countries. While average impacts are exiguous almost three years after implementation at scale, the results hide important heterogeneity: the intervention has strong and lasting effects on sanitation practices in poorer communities. These are realized through increased sanitation investments. We show that community wealth, widely available in secondary data, is a key statistic for effective intervention targeting. Using data from five other similar randomized interventions in various contexts, we find that community-level wealth heterogeneity can rationalize the wide range of impact estimates in the literature. This exercise provides plausible external validity to our findings, with implications for intervention scale-up. Page updated 12/02/2020 - A previous version of this paper was uploaded here.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Abramovsky & Britta Augsburg & Melanie Lührmann & Francisco Oteiza & Juan Pablo Rud, 2019. "Community matters: heterogenous impacts of a sanitation intervention," IFS Working Papers W19/11, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:19/11
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    1. Augsburg, Britta & Malde, Bansi & Olorenshaw, Harriet & Wahhaj, Zaki, 2023. "To invest or not to invest in sanitation: The role of intra-household gender differences in perceptions and bargaining power," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. Augsburg, Britta & Caeyers, Bet & Giunti, Sara & Malde, Bansi & Smets, Susanna, 2023. "Labeled loans and human capital investments," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    3. Augsburg, Britta & Bancalari, Antonella & Durrani, Zara & Vaidyanathan, Madhav & White, Zach, 2022. "When nature calls back: Sustaining behavioral change in rural Pakistan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Augsburg, Britta & Baquero, Juan P. & Gautam, Sanghmitra & Rodriguez-Lesmes, Paul, 2023. "Sanitation and marriage markets in India: Evidence from the Total Sanitation Campaign," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    5. Job Wasonga & Kazuchiyo Miyamichi & Mami Hitachi & Rie Ozaki & Mohamed Karama & Kenji Hirayama & Satoshi Kaneko, 2023. "Effects of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Boosting and Household Factors on Latrine Ownership in Siaya County, Kenya," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(18), pages 1-12, September.
    6. Gautam, Sanghmitra, 2023. "Quantifying welfare effects in the presence of externalities: An ex-ante evaluation of sanitation interventions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    External validity; Heterogeneous Treatment Effects; Sanitation; Information; Cluster- Randomized Control Trial.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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