Malaria and Growth

[摘要] The authors explore the two-sided linkbetween malaria morbidity and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)per capita growth. Climate significantly affectscross-country differences in malaria morbidity. Tropicallocation is not destiny, however: greater access to ruralhealth care and greater income equality are associated withlower malaria morbidity. But the interpretation of this linkis ambiguous: does greater income inequality allow forimproved anti-malaria efforts, or does malaria itselfincrease income inequality? Allowing for two-sidedcausation, the authors find a significant negative causaleffect running from malaria morbidity to the growth rate ofGDP per capita. In about a quarter of their samplecountries, malaria is estimated to reduce GDP per capitagrowth by at least 0.25 percentage point a year.

[发布机构] World Bank, Washington, DC

[学科分类] 社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

[关键词] CLIMATE;CLIMATE VARIABLES;CLIMATIC CHANGE;COMMUNICABLE DISEASES;DIARRHEA