We use a competing risk model to analyze environmental determinants of child mortality using the 1992 China National Health Survey, which collects information on cause of death. Our primary question is whether taking into account of cause of death using a competing risk model, compared with a...

A characteristic of China's "gradualistic" reform is that it starts first by trying not to confront many vested interests or to undertake any fundamental, radical restructuring of the old system, but rather to develop a new system alongside (or on the "margins" of) the old system. Therefore,...

Household fuel-use (HFU) patterns are strongly associated with multiple effects, including air quality, human health, and regional climate change. This paper presents the results from the first Chinese Environmental Exposure-Related Human Activity Patterns Survey (CEERHAPS), carried out among...

Extreme weather events are known to have serious consequences for human health and are predicted to increase in frequency as a result of climate change. Africa is one of the regions that risks being most seriously affected. This paper quantifies the impact of extreme rainfall and temperature...

The World Bank's new environment strategy advocates cost-effective reduction of air and water pollutants that are most harmful to human health. In addition, it addresses threats to the livelihood of over one billion people who live on fragile lands-lands that are steeply sloped, arid, or covered...

The authors investigate the distribution of a measure of housing consumption among public tenants in cities of two Chinese provinces using household survey data. They find the resulting distribution roughly consistent with the outcome of a market rental system for fixed supply and CES...

Empirical studies on health at a disaggregate level-by socioeconomic group or geographic location-can provide useful information for designing poverty-focused interventions. Using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data, the author investigates the determinants of health outcomes in low-income...

Community-based natural resource managementis an important strategy to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and wildlife in Namibia. The authors examine the extent to which conservancies have been successful in meeting their primary goal of improving the lives of rural households. They...