Impact of water supply and sanitation assistance on human welfare in rural Pakistan

Abstract

The paper examines impact of two water supply and sanitation projects in rural Pakistan in improving access to water supply and sanitation and on health, education, and labour supply based on a household survey of 1300 project and 1300 comparison households. The impact was estimated using treatment effects based on a control-function approach. Overall findings show that the projects improved households’ access to water supply, reduced drudgery associated with fetching water and improved attendance of high-school-age girls in schools. However, the projects had no significant impact on the incidence and intensity of diarrhoea and on increasing labour force participation and hours available for work.