http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:80/dspace/handle/10625/40407 2013-05-24T09:46:00Z http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:80/dspace/handle/10625/43094 Title: Household environmental conditions and disease prevalence in Uganda : the impact of access to safe water and improved sanitation on diarrhea Authors: Kasirye, Ibrahim Abstract: Although governments in sub-Saharan Africa have increasingly devoted more resources to water and sanitation interventions, many households in the sub-region still do not have access to safe water and improved sanitation. We utilize data from the 2005/06 Uganda National Household Survey to investigate the impacts of inadequate access to safe water and improved sanitation. In addition, we examine the cost effectiveness of the provision of piped water by either a household connection or community standpipes, for a hypothetical poor urban town in Uganda. We find that only piped water within the household and access to private covered pit latrines significantly impact diarrhea prevalence. In addition, we examine the cost effectiveness of the provision of piped water by either a household connection or community standpipes, for a hypothetical poor urban town in Uganda. We find that providing community standpipes results in the largest reduction in the burden of disease. Overall, our results present a targeting dilemma because although water in Uganda is publicly provided, the construction of sanitation facilities is considered a private matter. Nonetheless, either health information campaigns, conducted to persuade households to construct personal latrines, or local government ordinances making toilet construction mandatory could go a long way toward reducing the burden of disease due to diarrhea in Uganda. 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:80/dspace/handle/10625/43036 Title: Who switches to gas? : a study of a fuel conversion program in Colombia Authors: Saldarriaga I., Carlos Adrián; Vergara T., Carlos Andrés Abstract: Air pollution from mobile sources is an important environmental problem in larger cities in Colombia, as well as in other Latin-American countries. In 2001, a program was implemented to encourage the use of natural gas in vehicles in the Aburrá Valley in Colombia, with incentives to convert small cars from gasoline and diesel to hybrid engines with natural gas, most notably a cash subsidy. Using a survey administered to both commercial and private car owners we study the determinants of conversion under this fuel conversion program. We thus obtain information about the reasons for adoption of new technologies in vehicles. This allows us to discuss the possible outcomes of this type of policy. Results show that a large part of owners who switched would have done it anyway without the subsidy. Based on the findings, commercial vehicles are most likely to be converted to natural gas vehicles (NGV). 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:80/dspace/handle/10625/42733 Title: Water reuse in Brazilian manufacturing firms Authors: Féres, José; Reynaud, Arnaud; Thomas, Alban Abstract: This paper examines the factors influencing manufacturing firms' water reuse decision and analyzes whether the structure of intake water demand differs between firms that adopt water reuse practices and those which do not. The first stage of the estimation model involves a Probit analysis of the water reuse decision and the second stage employs an endogenous switching regression to estimate the intake water demand equations. Results suggest that water charges may act as an effective mechanism in inducing firms to undertake water reuse investments and in reducing intake water demand. Estimates of the water demand price elasticities indicates that plants that reuse water are more sensitive to water price increases than plants without access to reuse technologies. 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:80/dspace/handle/10625/42732 Title: Environmental policy, fuel prices and the switching to natural gas in Santiago, Chile Authors: Coria, Jessica Abstract: In this study I analyze the pattern of adoption of natural gas in Chile and the drivers behind it. For doing that I have a panel data set of stationary sources from 1995 to 2005 that allows me to identify either the role of environmental policy as the impact of the energy cost inducing the switching to this clean fuel. Besides, I evaluate the performance of the system of environmental contingencies, a non- traditional policy instrument created in Chile in the early nineties, that seemed strongly correlated with the switching. According to the data most of the adoption of natural gas was induced by the lower cost of this fuel, showing that sources were more sensitive to the cost of energy than to the environmental regulation. 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:80/dspace/handle/10625/38905 Title: Managing the arsenic disaster in water supply : risk measurement, costs of illness and policy choices for Bangladesh Authors: Zakir Hossain Khan, M. Abstract: Arsenic poisoning is a major public health concern in Bangladesh. This study uses primary data to examine health impacts and costs associated with arsenic contamination of groundwater. The study estimates that some 7 to 12 million person-days per year are lost as a result of arsenic exposure. In addition, individuals who are sick spend between 207 (US$ 3.5) million to 369 (US$ 6.25) million taka per year for medical help. The total cost of illness as a result of exposure to arsenic is Tk 557 (US$ 9) to Tk 994 (US$ 17) million per annum or on average nearly 0.6 percent of the annual income of affected individuals. If it is possible to provide arsenic-free (within safe limit) alternative technologies to reverse the impact of arsenic, the social gains to Bangladesh are considerable. The study also finds that the threat of Melanosis--the black spot disease—and Keratosis—roughness in palms and soles— is high when there is cumulative exposure and that this threat is not the same for all wealth classes. Richer households take mitigation measures to reduce the threat on their health. Richer households also seem to be more successful in avoiding the incidence of conjunctivitis due to Arsenicosis. Women on the other hand are more likely to be affected by inflammation of the respiratory tracts--a sign of long-term exposure without recourse to medical help. 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z