Ambient temperature, birth rate, and birth outcomes: evidence from South Korea
This study finds that one additional day with a maximum temperature of 30 –32 °C (86–89.6 °F), relative to a day with a temperature of 28–30 °C (82.4–86 °F), decreases the birth rate 9 months later by 0.24%, or 92 babies per month in South Korea. This result is robust to various specifications and samples. This study also found that the impact of the temp erature bin did not vary according to the mother’s characteristics, including education and age. That is, high temperature has no differential effect on mothers of different backgrounds. Finally, we found no significant temperature effect on birth outco...
Source: Population and Environment - December 1, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Investigating demographic processes using innovative combinations of remotely sensed and demographic data
(Source: Population and Environment)
Source: Population and Environment - November 25, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Climate-induced cross-border migration and change in demographic structure
AbstractAs climate change threatens livelihoods in Bangladesh, migration to neighboring countries in South Asia may accelerate. We use multiple types of data to predict how changes in the environment affect cross-border migration. Nationally representative migration data are combined with remote-sensing measures of flooding and rainfalland in situ measures of monsoon onset, temperature, radiation, and soil salinity to characterize environmental migration patterns. We further evaluate which groups are more susceptible to cross-border migration to examine how environmental factors shape the demographic composition of the cou...
Source: Population and Environment - November 25, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Spatio-temporal patterns of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in relation to drinking water salinity at the district level in Bangladesh from 2016 to 2018
AbstractThis analysis examines whether salinity in drinking water is associated with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (PE/E), a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Bangladesh ’s national health information system data were extracted at the district level (n = 64) to assess PE/E rates, and these were overlaid with three environmental measures approximating drinking water salinity, remotely sensed low-elevation coastal zone (LECZ), monthly rainfall data, and electrical conductivity of groundwater (i.e., water salinity). Results from a negative binomial fixed effects model suggest PE/E rates are higher with less r...
Source: Population and Environment - November 24, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
People and Pixels 20 years later: the current data landscape and research trends blending population and environmental data
AbstractIn 1998, the National Research Council publishedPeople and Pixels: Linking Remote Sensing and Social Science. The volume focused on emerging research linking changes in human populations and land use/land cover to shed light on issues of sustainability, human livelihoods, and conservation, and led to practical innovations in agricultural planning, hazard impact analysis, and drought monitoring. Since then, new research opportunities have emerged thanks to the growing variety of remotely sensed data sources, an increasing array of georeferenced social science data, including data from mobile devices, and access to p...
Source: Population and Environment - November 21, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Does crop diversity at the village level influence child nutrition security? Evidence from 11 sub-Saharan African countries
AbstractDiversifying crop production has been proposed as a means of reducing food and nutrition insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, but previous empirical studies yield mixed results. Much of this evidence has focused at the household level, but there are plausible reasons to expect that the presence of crop diversity at other scales affects human health. Utilizing data from 11 sub-Saharan African countries housed in the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)-Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) system, this study assesses the association between village-level crop diversity and both dietary diversity and height-...
Source: Population and Environment - November 5, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Residential buyouts as environmental mobility: examining where homeowners move to illuminate social inequities in climate adaptation
This study examines where residents move after accepting federally funded buyouts of their flood-prone homes. We use the concept of “environmental mobility” — defined as local, voluntary moves undertaken in the face of imminent environmental risk — to distinguish this type of climate adaptation from longer-distance and less-voluntary types of movement. We then use the case of Houston, Texas — the site of more than 3000 such buyouts between 2000 and 2017 — to build a unique dataset that enables, for the first time, address-level analysis of such environmental mobility. Results affirm that most people who move fr...
Source: Population and Environment - August 27, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Where there is smoke: solid fuel externalities, gender, and adult respiratory health in India
AbstractChronic respiratory conditions are a leading cause of death in the world. Using data on lung obstruction from the WHO Survey of Global Ageing and Adult Health (WHO-SAGE 2007 –2008), this paper studies the determinants of respiratory health in India, home to a third of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. First, we find that smokers and members of households that use solid fuels (wood, biomass, coal, or dung) for cooking have higher lung obstruction. Second, even if a respondent’s household uses clean fuels, their lung obstruction is higher if their neighbors use solid fuels. In neighborhoods w...
Source: Population and Environment - August 19, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Hunger, nutrition, and precipitation: evidence from Ghana and Bangladesh
In this study, we used Feed the Future datasets from Ghana and Bangladesh to examine the impact of precipitation extremes on nutrition, measured by children ’s height-for-age and weight-for-height Z-scores, and food security, measured by the Household Hunger Scale. We used a spatial error regression to control for the effects of spatial autocorrelation, and we found an association between precipitation shocks and household hunger in both Ghana and Ban gladesh, as well as an association between higher rainfall and worse child nutrition in Ghana. (Source: Population and Environment)
Source: Population and Environment - August 6, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Extreme weather and migration: evidence from Bangladesh
AbstractUsing retrospective migration history data collected in southwestern Bangladesh, we examine the relationship between extreme weather conditions —warm spells, dry spells, wet spells, and intense precipitation—and the likelihood that male household heads make a first internal or international migrant trip. We also investigate whether and how agricultural livelihoods and having a close migrant relative are associated with migration in resp onse to extreme weather. Findings reveal that dry spells are most consistently associated with increased migration, although we see some evidence that first trips also increase ...
Source: Population and Environment - June 27, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Direct and indirect impacts of environmental factors on migration in Burkina Faso: application of structural equation modelling
AbstractIn the prolific literature on the impact of environment on migration, direct and indirect effects are often mentioned but rarely estimated separately. We use structural equation modelling to estimate how the drivers of migration (socio-economic, environmental and individual) interact with each other and jointly contribute to individuals ’ migration decision in rural Burkina Faso (1970–1998). Facing a worsening environmental situation, people’s direct response tends to be short-term migrations to rural and urban areas, but the indirect effect differs: poor rainfall conditions push down socio-economic situation...
Source: Population and Environment - May 16, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Culture, climate change and mobility decisions in Pacific Small Island Developing States
AbstractThe Pacific Small Island Developing States are often considered on the frontline of climate change due to high levels of exposure to climate-related hazards and limited adaptive capacity to respond. In this context, Pacific Islanders may be displaced, or choose to migrate to escape risk and find more secure livelihoods. On the other hand, Pacific political and community leaders stress that mobility can be a threat to sovereignty and culture and should only be considered as a last resort. This paper adopts a cultural ecology framing to gain a greater understanding of these contested local discourses on climate chang...
Source: Population and Environment - May 16, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Water access in post-tsunami Indonesia
This study focuses on the region of Indonesia that was hit hardest by the massive 2004 tsunami and was then the epicenter of an unprecedented recovery effort. I turn to data from a unique longitudinal survey to evaluate multiple dimensions of water access for almost 6000 families over 10 years. Using logit and multinomial logit regression analysis, I demonstrate that richer households increasingly access higher quality water sources, while poorer households disproportionately turn to lower-quality sources. This result has important implications for health outcomes and for our unde rstanding of how vulnerability extends p...
Source: Population and Environment - April 25, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Disaster vulnerability, displacement, and infectious disease: Nicaragua and Hurricane Mitch
In this study, we analyze individual-level longitudinal data from the Nicaragua Living Standards and Measurement Survey (N = 3474) in order to ascertain the influence of disaster displacement arising from the Hurricane Mitch event upon two communicable disease outcomes: diarrheal disease and respiratory disease. First, multinomial logistic regression analyses demonstrate that individuals from households headed by w omen, as well as from households with low levels of consumption expenditures, experienced greater odds of displacement to shelters in the aftermath of Mitch. Second, two-way fixed-effects regression analysis...
Source: Population and Environment - April 24, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
The impact of indoor air pollution on health outcomes and cognitive abilities: empirical evidence from China
AbstractThis paper investigates the health impact of indoor air pollution caused by household use of solid fuels for heating or cooking among middle-aged and elderly people, using data from the 2013 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We use a propensity score matching method to address potential confounding of variables associated with household solid fuel use and health outcomes. We find that indoor air pollution significantly increases the likelihood of being diagnosed with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases including lung disease, heart disease, and hypertension, and reporting poor health status. We al...
Source: Population and Environment - April 17, 2019 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
