Happiness on Tap: Piped Water Adoption in Urban Morocco
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 4,
no. 4, November 2012
(pp. 68-99)
Abstract
Connecting private dwellings to the water main is expensive and typically cannot be publicly financed. We show that households' willingness to pay for a private connection is high when it can be purchased on credit, not because a connection improves health but because it increases the time available for leisure and reduces inter- and intra-household conflicts on water matters, leading to sustained improvements in well-being. Our results suggest that facilitating access to credit for households to finance lump sum quality-oflife investments can significantly increase welfare, even if those investments do not result in any health or income gains. (JEL D12, I31, O12, O13, O18, Q25)Citation
Devoto, Florencia, Esther Duflo, Pascaline Dupas, William Parienté, and Vincent Pons. 2012. "Happiness on Tap: Piped Water Adoption in Urban Morocco." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 4 (4): 68-99. DOI: 10.1257/pol.4.4.68Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
- I31 General Welfare
- O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
- O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
- O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
- Q25 Renewable Resources and Conservation: Water
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