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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

Soumya Balasubramanya ,
Alexander Pfaff ,
Lori Bennear ,
Alessandro Tarozzi ,
Kazi Matin Ahmed ,
Amy Schoenfeld  and
Alexander van Geen
Soumya Balasubramanya
Affiliation:
International Water Management Institute, 127 Sunil Mawatha, Pelawatte, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. Tel. +94 11 2880000. E-mail: s.balasubramanya@cgiar.org
Alexander Pfaff
Affiliation:
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, USA. E-mail: alex.pfaff@duke.edu
Lori Bennear
Affiliation:
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, USA. E-mail: lori.bennear@duke.edu
Alessandro Tarozzi
Affiliation:
UPF and Barcelona GSE, Department of Economics and Business, Spain. E-mail: alessandro.tarozzi@upf.edu
Kazi Matin Ahmed
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. E-mail: kmahmed@univdhaka.edu
Amy Schoenfeld
Affiliation:
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, USA. E-mail: avgeen@ldeo.columbia.edu
Alexander van Geen
Affiliation:
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, USA. E-mail: avgeen@ldeo.columbia.edu
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Abstract

A 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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 19 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 631 - 647
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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