the WASH sector

My and others’ WASH economics sessions at #UNCwaterandhealth 2019

I’ve just arrived at the UNC Water and Health conference 2019 this week (verbal abstracts book here). I have three verbal presentations, a poster, and am involved in a side-event. Short summaries are below. Further below, I highlight others’ economics-related presentations/sessions that I’m looking forward to seeing. All my stuff is on Thursday… but please talk… Continue reading My and others’ WASH economics sessions at #UNCwaterandhealth 2019

Costs, Sanitation, the WASH sector, Water

Funders shouldn’t misinterpret WASH-B and SHINE results as “WASH doesn’t work”

There has been a lot of debate about the well-designed and well-conducted WASH-B (Kenya, Bangladesh) and SHINE (Zimbabwe) trials of rural WASH interventions in the past year or so. Most recently, researchers active in WASH epidemiology published a consensus paper. Many funders may not read it, which would be a shame, as it is easy… Continue reading Funders shouldn’t misinterpret WASH-B and SHINE results as “WASH doesn’t work”

health economics, the WASH sector

Economist-engineers and public health economists: is WASH economics a “field”?

Is WASH economics a 'field'? This post explores ways of breaking down the “field” of WASH economics. On the one hand, one can argue that WASH economics doesn’t exist as a coherent field. After all, most people actually working on WASH economics questions are in the field of engineering and/or public health. There are fairly… Continue reading Economist-engineers and public health economists: is WASH economics a “field”?

Quality of Service, Sanitation, SanQoL

A generalised way of thinking about sanitation quality of service and quality of life

In a previous post, I wrote about how I see measures of quality of service (QoS) and quality of life (QoL) capturing different things which are both important. In this post, I expand on that, proposing a generalised way of thinking about this at different stages of the service chain. First, though, a few words… Continue reading A generalised way of thinking about sanitation quality of service and quality of life

economic evaluation, health economics, Sanitation, SanQoL

Better lives with better toilets – SanQoL translated for public engagement

The below piece won the ESRC 'Better Lives' writing competition  and The Guardian published an abridged version. It dates from before I had completed the fieldwork for my PhD. So, it's probably better to read the specific page on SanQoL and the associated papers. =========================================== Imagine not having somewhere safe to go to the toilet.… Continue reading Better lives with better toilets – SanQoL translated for public engagement

health economics, Quality of Service, Sanitation, SanQoL, welfare economics

Quality of Service vs. Quality of Life – ways of measuring sanitation outcomes

In a previous post I explored the concept of sanitation-related quality of life (SanQoL). In that post I distinguished between “quality of service” (and/or infrastructure) and quality of life. The present post expands a bit on that distinction. 1. Different ways of measuring "quality" Consider these three questions for assessing the concept of privacy: [observe]… Continue reading Quality of Service vs. Quality of Life – ways of measuring sanitation outcomes

economic evaluation, health economics, PhD, Sanitation, SanQoL

Using the concept of ‘sanitation-related quality of life’ (SanQoL) to measure what is valued by users

The below post dates from before I had completed the fieldwork for my PhD. So it's probably better to read the specific page on SanQoL and the associated papers, rather than the below. =========================================== Introduction Since investment options are always compared under a budget constraint, economic evaluation aims to inform unavoidable decisions and support allocative… Continue reading Using the concept of ‘sanitation-related quality of life’ (SanQoL) to measure what is valued by users

economic evaluation, Sanitation

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

Water

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