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In-Utero Exposure to Drought and Infant Mortality: Can Access to Groundwater Buffer the Impacts of Drought? Evidence from Tanzania

Gicklhorn, Thomas LU (2025) EKHS42 20251
Department of Economic History
Abstract
This thesis studies whether in-utero drought exposure increases infant mortality and whether groundwater access can buffer this effect. Using georeferenced DHS data from Tanzania and high-resolution rainfall and groundwater data, I find that each additional month of in-utero drought raises infant mortality by 0.4 percentage points, which is a 5 percent increase relative to the sample mean. Importantly, the adverse effects of prenatal drought exposure are only observed in areas with limited access to groundwater. No significant effects are found in areas with economically accessible groundwater. The findings suggest that groundwater can buffer the health impacts of early-life climate shocks.
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author
Gicklhorn, Thomas LU
supervisor
organization
course
EKHS42 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Infant mortality, in-utero drought, groundwater
language
English
id
9207552
date added to LUP
2025-08-18 10:46:07
date last changed
2025-08-18 10:46:07
@misc{9207552,
  abstract     = {{This thesis studies whether in-utero drought exposure increases infant mortality and whether groundwater access can buffer this effect. Using georeferenced DHS data from Tanzania and high-resolution rainfall and groundwater data, I find that each additional month of in-utero drought raises infant mortality by 0.4 percentage points, which is a 5 percent increase relative to the sample mean. Importantly, the adverse effects of prenatal drought exposure are only observed in areas with limited access to groundwater. No significant effects are found in areas with economically accessible groundwater. The findings suggest that groundwater can buffer the health impacts of early-life climate shocks.}},
  author       = {{Gicklhorn, Thomas}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{In-Utero Exposure to Drought and Infant Mortality: Can Access to Groundwater Buffer the Impacts of Drought? Evidence from Tanzania}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}