CIAO DATE: 12/2011
October 2011
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Demand for adequate provision of drinking-water and sanitation facilities to promote public health and economic growth is increasing in the rapidly urbanizing countries of the developing world. Using panel data and probit estimation, this paper investigates the interrelationships between the occurrence of cholera outbreaks, urbanization, drinking-water and sanitation facilities, and other economic and environmental-geographic variables. The imputation of missing data is found to be an important consideration. Significant effects are found for environmental-geographic variables and varied effects for sanitation, drinking-water, and urbanization. On balance, the evidence suggests drinking-water levels and urbanization are stronger predictors of cholera outbreaks than sanitation levels.
Resource link: "Cross-Country Analysis of the Effects of Urbanization, Improved Drinking-Water and Improved Sanitation on Cholera" [PDF] - 320K