Volume 23, Number 3 (Summer) 1988
Wiemer, Calla. 1988. "A Framework for Assessing Productivity Loss from Schistosomiasis." Journal of Human Resources 23(3):320-341.
The severity of the parasitic infection schistosomiasis, and hence the magnitude of the productivity losses caused, both vary a great deal across exposed populations. In the model of this paper, severity is measured in terms of a unit of infectivity assigned a negative binomial distribution among the members of an exposed group. A methodology is devised for estimating the parameters of the distribution on a site-specific basis allowing for more accurate assessment of localized productivity losses than have previously been obtained. The purpose in developing the model and estimation methodology is to provide a foundation for cost-benefit studies of schistosomiasis control projects.
The author is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She wishes to thank the members of her dissertation committee, Professors Ralph Andreano (Chair), Kang Chao, and Burton Weisbrod for their guidance. She is also grateful to the National Institute of Mental Health and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for funding to carry out research in China. Finally, she thanks an anonymous referee who provided many helpful suggestions on an earlier draft.
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