This dissertation explores health and nutrition in the developing world as both a determinant
of economic outcomes and the result of economic realities. Health and nutrition are critical
components of economic and social well being and are therefore important factors of development.
As such, much effort and resources have been devoted to improving health outcomes in the
developing world. This dissertation (1) provides guidance on how policies can be best designed
to improve health and (2) provides a better understanding of the linkages between poor health and
economic outcomes. The three essays that comprise the dissertation investigate separate contexts
and linkages involving health and nutrition in the developing world.
The first essay examines the importance of household infrastructure (water source, sanitation
facilities, and flooring quality) for acute and chronic child diarrhea in Bolivia. It specifically focuses
on the effect of combinations of improved infrastructure, a subject rarely discussed in existing
research. The results from the essay suggest that improved sanitation facilities are effective at
reducing acute diarrhea while improved flooring was effective at reducing chronic diarrhea. The
results also suggest that having these two improved infrastructures in combination may be more
effective than individually.
The second essay explores whether and how parents alter their work hours in response to
a child becoming infected with malaria. How parents alter their work hours could have negative
repercussions for the household as a whole either though less time devoted to child care or reduced
income. Analyzing data from Malawi, it is found that there is no overall change in the work hours
of parents. However, it does appear that both fathers and mothers engage in low-paid, part-time
ganyu labor following child infection. Ganyu employment may help cover the costs of care, but
could result in reduced care time or decreased time in other more lucrative forms of work.