Housing and occupant health: Findings from Vietnam

Abstract

This paper investigates how poor-quality housing affects Vietnamese individuals’ health, measured using the number of sick days, which directly affects productivity and economic growth. Our analysis addresses endogeneity issues generally ignored in previous studies. We provide evidence, robust to various alterations that, the absence of an indoor water tap and homeownership, harmful indoor cooking fuel type, and the poor physical structure of the dwelling have adverse impacts on individuals’ health. Our findings indicate that the adverse effects of housing on health arise from a larger spectrum of housing issues in rural areas compared to urban areas. We also find that the intensity in deprived housing conditions has a non-linear relationship with health, suggesting that even some degree of housing assistance can have a beneficial impact on individuals’ health. Our study provides useful policy guides and informs healthy living practices.