Abstract
Using a difference-in-difference approach, we test the causal link between environmental disasters and mental health indicators in rural areas of Peru by exploiting the spatial variation in exogenous oil spills and the differences in their timing for the period 2014 to 2018. We find that, after controlling for time-varying controls and year fixed effects, oil spills lead to a significantly higher probability of suffering psychological distress. We also explore likely mechanisms that explain this causal impact. Finally, we present an event study and apply robustness tests that further support our findings.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 771-796 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | Review of Development Economics |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Funding Information:
We are very grateful to Noelia Bernal, Arlette Beltran, Juan Castro, Yulia Valdivia, Daniel Velásquez, and Gustavo Yamada for their comments and suggestions. The standard disclaimer applies.
Keywords
- Amazon
- environmental disasters
- mental health
- oil spills
- Peru
