Introduction Since investment options are always compared under a budget constraint, economic evaluation aims to inform unavoidable decisions and support allocative efficiency. Various economic evaluation methods (such as cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-benefit analysis) compare costs and consequences of alternative interventions. Improvements in sanitation can impact on health, and it is typically health outcomes such as averted… Continue reading Using the concept of ‘sanitation-related quality of life’ (SanQoL) to measure what is valued by users
CLTS, targeting and economic performance – reflections on two seminars
Today I attended not one, but two, seminars on CLTS. The first was Britta Augsburg presenting results of a recent cRCT of a WaterAid CLTS intervention in Nigeria (at LSHTM). The second was Dale Whittington reflecting on CLTS trials in the last few years and his recent CBA paper incorporating their results (at Oxford). A… Continue reading CLTS, targeting and economic performance – reflections on two seminars
Recent increases in rural water access in African countries relied predominantly on groundwater
The JMP’s online analysis tool allows water supply data to be cut by service level (safely managed, basic etc.) or facility type (piped, non-piped), as set out in their 2018 methods doc. "Piped", W2 in their indicator list (p.4) includes all tap water classifications (p.9), i.e. both on-plot piped and off-plot kiosks or public taps.… Continue reading Recent increases in rural water access in African countries relied predominantly on groundwater
The economics of antimicrobial resistance and the role of water and sanitation services
Seeing a paper published a few weeks ago in Nature Communications (more on that below) reminded me of some reading I did last year on WASH and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and got me thinking about the economics of this. What is AMR? Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microorganisms adapt after exposure to antimicrobial drugs… Continue reading The economics of antimicrobial resistance and the role of water and sanitation services
The difference between economic and financial analysis for WASH services
The distinction between economic analysis and financial analysis is not always straightforward. In this post I try to clarify this. Definitions I have previously defined WASH economics as “the study of how people make decisions about the allocation of scarce resources in the delivery and use of WASH services.” See that post for more discussion… Continue reading The difference between economic and financial analysis for WASH services
Recall bias and cost data
I've been working on costing a few programmes recently where the intervention happened between 3-10 years ago. Both used household surveys asking people what they spent (in cash and in kind) towards the original infrastructure output (CapEx), towards regular operational and maintenance (OpEx) and irregular capital maintenance (CapManEx). It's got me thinking about the various… Continue reading Recall bias and cost data
Preferences and constraints – when does container-based sanitation address the binding constraint to uptake?
In welfare economics, “preferences” denote which alternative goods or services someone would choose, based on the relative “utility” provided by each (more on utility another time). For example, when presented with a box of chocolates, my first choice is always a praline (P). But if only marzipan fruits (M) and brazil nut caramels (B) were… Continue reading Preferences and constraints – when does container-based sanitation address the binding constraint to uptake?
Water supply & diarrhoea – latest systematic review and economic implications
An update to the WHO-led systematic review of the ‘Impact of drinking water, sanitation and handwashing with soap on childhood diarrhoeal disease’ by Wolf et al. (2018) was published in TMIH in May. I re-read it last week with a water supply hat on, and was interested to see how they’ve improved on the 2014… Continue reading Water supply & diarrhoea – latest systematic review and economic implications
Categorisation of shared sanitation – some city-wide data using one approach
There has been a fair amount of debate on the role of shared sanitation in urban settings recently, see e.g. this comment piece from various stakeholders, this paper (plus others) from Sheillah Simiyu and this one from Marieke Heijnen. Also, WSUP recently issued an RFP for multi-country research on shared sanitation. In my own little… Continue reading Categorisation of shared sanitation – some city-wide data using one approach
Sanitation’s share of water sector aid is falling
I went to an interesting event at LSHTM last night run by Countdown 2030, on tracking aid flows to track global aid flows to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH). Their dataset is here. Yet another reminder that the health sector is way ahead of the WASH sector on so many analytical questions, but… Continue reading Sanitation’s share of water sector aid is falling
