Lecture | Prof. Günther Schulze: "The Impact of Access to Safe Water and Sanitation on Growth" (10 July 2012, Australian National University)
Mr. Schulze presented his paper in the economics of trade and development seminar series of Crawford School of Public Policy of the ANU College of Asia & the Pacific in Australia.
"The Impact of Access to Safe Water and Sanitation on Growth: Evidence from Developing Countries"
In this paper, we analyze the effect of access to safe water and sanitation on economic growth. Using a panel of 75 developing and threshold countries, we show that the lack of access to safe water and sanitation diminishes growth significantly: a one standard deviation lower share of population with access to clean water (i.e. 18 percentage points) reduces growth performance by around 1.23 percentage points. Lower access rates to appropriate sanitation have a similar effect. The growth-enhancing effect of safe water and proper sanitation works primarily through higher productivity rather than through increased factor accumulation. Our results demonstrate that improved access to safe water and sanitation is a very effective instrument for stimulating growth and reducing poverty.
You may find further information on the lecture of Mr. Schulze on the ANU homepage.
For a complete list of the lectures in the economics of trade and development seminar series please click here.