Evolution of households’ responses to the groundwater arsenic crisis in Bangladesh: information on environmental health risks can have increasing behavioral impact over time

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dc.creatorBalasubramanya, Soumya
dc.creatorPfaff, A.
dc.creatorBennear, L.
dc.creatorTarozzi, A.
dc.creatorAhmed, K.M.
dc.creatorSchoenfeld, A.
dc.creatorGeen, A. van
dc.date2014-10
dc.date2015-03-17T14:39:53Z
dc.date2015-03-17T14:39:53Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T18:24:20Z
dc.descriptionA national campaign of well testing through 2003 enabled households in rural Bangladesh to switch, at least for drinking water, from high-arsenic wells to neighboring lower arsenic wells. We study the well-switching dynamics over time by re-interviewing, in 2008, a randomly selected subset of households in the Araihazar region who had been interviewed in 2005. Contrary to concerns that the impact of arsenic information on switching behavior would erode over time, we find that not only was 2003–2005 switching highly persistent but also new switching by 2008 doubled the share of households at unsafe wells who had switched. The passage of time also had a cost: 22 per cent of households did not recall test results by 2008. The loss of arsenic knowledge led to staying at unsafe wells and switching from safe wells. Our results support ongoing well testing for arsenic to reinforce this beneficial information.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/58375
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/154795
dc.languageen
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.rightsLimited Access
dc.sourceBalasubramanya, Soumya; Pfaff, A.; Bennear, L.; Tarozzi, A.; Ahmed, K. M.; Schoenfeld, A.; Van Geen, A. 2014. Evolution of households’ responses to the groundwater arsenic crisis in Bangladesh: information on environmental health risks can have increasing behavioral impact over time. Environment and Development Economics, 19:631-647. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X13000612
dc.subjectarsenic
dc.subjectgroundwater
dc.subjectenvironmental health
dc.subjecthealth hazards
dc.subjecthouseholds
dc.subjectwells
dc.subjectdrinking water
dc.subjectdevelopment
dc.titleEvolution of households’ responses to the groundwater arsenic crisis in Bangladesh: information on environmental health risks can have increasing behavioral impact over time
dc.typeJournal Article

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Instituto Internacional para el Manejo del Agua (IWMI)