The health consequences of aerial spraying of illicit crops: the case of Colombia

Abstract

This paper exploits the variation in aerial spraying across time and space in Colombia and employs a panel of individual health records in order to study the causal effects of aerial spraying of herbicides (Glyphosate) on health-related outcomes.Our results show that an increase in the amount of aerial spraying in a municipality increases the number of medical consultations related to the exposure of Glyphosate that the municipality's inhabitants present.This finding is robust to the inclusion of individual fixed effects, which compares the prevalence of Glyphosate related consultations for the same person under different levels of exposure to the herbicide.We find strong negative effects on dermatological problems and abortions, while there is no evidence of effects on respiratory diseases.