Large-scale land investment, disease prevalence and infant mortality in Cambodia

Since 1996, Cambodia has leased around 65 percent of its arable land to companies in the form of Large-scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs). We use locations of LSLAs with geocoded survey data from two datasets to estimate their effects on infant mortality and self-reported symptoms using a spatial difference-in-differences empirical strategy. Results show being within 10 km of an LSLA significantly increases the likelihood of death in the first year of life by 4.6 percentage points and having an illness by 10.5 to 14.9 percentage points for children five and under. Analysis of data from the Malaria Atlas Project shows being within 10 km of an LSLA leads to a 2.9 percent increase in the rates of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Analysis using surveys of village leaders finds a significant increase in the likelihood leaders name malaria as a major health problem in their communities.