2019/11/01 by D. Mark Anderson, Kerwin Kofi Charles, Daniel I. Rees +1 · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Nursing · Engineering · #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies #Child Nutrition and Water Access #Water resources management and optimization
paper · pdf · doi:10.3386/w26489
openalex publication_date 2019/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
According to There is, however, little empirical evidence to support the Troesken hypothesis. Using city-level data published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for the period 1906-1938, we explore the relationship between water purification efforts and the black-white infant mortality gap. Our results suggest that, while water filtration was effective across the board, adding chlorine to the water supply reduced mortality only among black infants. Specifically, chlorination is associated with an 11 percent reduction in black infant mortality and a 13 percent reduction in the black-white infant mortality gap. We also find that chlorination led to a substantial reduction in the black-white diarrhea mortality gap among children under the age of 2, although this estimate is measured with less precision.