title: Social capital and access to primary health care in developing countries: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa.
abstract: We test for a causal role of social capital, as measured by self-reported trust, in determining access to basic health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa. To skirt the reverse-causality problems between social capital and basic health, we rely on instrumental-variable (IV) estimates. A one standard-deviation increase in trust is predicted to lead to a 0.22 standard-deviation fall in doctor absenteeism, a 0.31 standard-deviation fall in waiting time and a 0.30 standard-deviation fall in bribes. As a robustness check, we also use a different database regarding a different health issue, access to clean water. We find that a one standard-deviation rise in trust leads to a 0.33 standard-deviation rise in access to clean water. The variety of public goods considered provides insights about the possible channels through which social capital is converted into health improvements.
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique and CNRS, France; Ecole Polytechnique, France. Electronic address: guillaume.hollard@polytechnique.edu.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hollard
authors.affiliation: Ecole Polytechnique and CNRS, France; Ecole Polytechnique, France. Electronic address: omar.sene@polytechnique.edu.
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sene
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D066270:Social Capital
keywords: Africa; Causality; Health; Social capital