Malaria and Education: Evidence from Mali

Josselin Thuilliez (1) , Hippolyte d'Albis (2, 1) , Hamidou Niangaly (3) , Ogobara Doumbo (3)

1 CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne
2 PSE - Paris School of Economics
3 MRTC - Malaria Research and Training Center

This article examines the influence of malaria on human capital accumulation in the village of Diankabou in Mali. To account for malaria endogeneity and its interaction with unobservable risk factors, we exploit natural variations in malaria immunity across individuals of several sympatric ethnic groups – the Fulani and the non-Fulani – who differ in their susceptibility to malaria. The Fulani are known to be less susceptible to malaria infections, despite living with a similar malaria transmission intensity to those seen among other ethnic groups. We also use natural variation of malaria intensity in the area (during and after the malaria transmission season) and utilize this seasonal change as a treatment. We find that malaria has an impact on cognitive and educational outcomes in this village. We discuss the implications of this result for human capital investments and fertility decisions with the help of a quantity-quality model.

Mots clés: Malaria; Immunity; Education; Cognition; Fertility

Domaines: Economies et finances

Josselin Thuilliez, Hippolyte d'Albis, Hamidou Niangaly, Ogobara Doumbo. Malaria and Education: Evidence from Mali. 2016. ⟨halshs-01278041⟩