The Impact of Electricity Sector Privatization on Public Health

We use province-level data for Argentina to test for the causal relation between electricity distribution and health. We are interested in the impact of privatization on two output measures, incidence of low birth weight and child mortality rates caused by food poisoning. Privatization improves service coverage which, through the use of refrigerators, may improve nutritional intake. Privatization also results in a reduction in the frequency of interruptions, and thus may reduce the likelihood of food poisoning. We find some evidence that privatization reduced the frequency of low birth weight and child mortality rates caused by food poisoning. Results are not strong enough to inform the policy debate with respect to the benefits that privatizations have on the welfare of the poor.