Still Waters Run Deep: Groundwater Contamination and Education Outcomes in India

Title

Still Waters Run Deep: Groundwater Contamination and Education Outcomes in India

Creator

Aggarwal K.; Barua R.; Vidal-Fernandez M.

Description

We investigate the impact of groundwater contamination on educational outcomes in India. Our study leverages variations in the geographical coverage and timing of construction of safe government piped water schemes to identify the effects of exposure to contaminants. Using self-collected survey data from public schools in Assam, one of the most groundwater-contaminated regions in India, we find that prolonged exposure to unsafe groundwater is associated with increased school absenteeism, grade retention, and decreased test scores and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). To complement our findings and to study the effect of one such contaminant, arsenic, we use a large nationally representative household survey. Using variations in soil textures across districts as an instrument for arsenic concentration levels we find that exposure to arsenic beyond safe threshold levels is negatively associated with school attendance. 2024 Elsevier Ltd

Source

Economics of Education Review, Vol-100

Date

2024-01-01

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd

Subject

Education; Health; India; Water pollution

Coverage

Aggarwal K., Christ University, India; Barua R., Centre for International Trade and Development (CITD), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), India; Vidal-Fernandez M., The University of Sydney, Australia

Rights

All Open Access; Green Open Access; Hybrid Gold Open Access

Relation

ISSN: 2727757

Format

Online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102525

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85189086925&doi=10.1016%2fj.econedurev.2024.102525&partnerID=40&md5=0164db63036c441c5228ff1baa44fb22