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Housing, health, and happiness

Author

Listed:
  • Cattaneo, Matias D.
  • Galiano, Sebastian
  • Gertler, Paul J.
  • Martinez, Sebastian
  • Titiunik, Rocio

Abstract

Despite the importance of housing for people's well-being, there has been little work done to assess the causal impact of housing and housing improvement programs on health and welfare. In this paper the authors help fill this gap by investigating the impact of a large-scale effort by the Mexican government to replace dirt floors with cement floors on child health and adult happiness. They find that replacing dirt floors with cement floors significantly reduces parasitic infestations in young children, reduces diarrhea, reduces anemia, and improves cognitive development. Finally, they also find that this program leave adults substantially better off, as measured by satisfaction with their housing and quality of life and by their significantly lower rates of depression and perceived stress.

Suggested Citation

  • Cattaneo, Matias D. & Galiano, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul J. & Martinez, Sebastian & Titiunik, Rocio, 2007. "Housing, health, and happiness," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4214, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4214
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Disease Control&Prevention; Housing&Human Habitats; Access to Finance; Construction Industry;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate

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