This study presents empirical evidence that a health improvement program—privatization of municipal water services—in Argentina during the 1990s has had a negative effect on long-term human capital accumulation. Exploiting variations across regions and cohorts, I find that early childhood exposure to the program reduces years of schooling by around 0.5 years. The negative effect is more pronounced for males. I further use the previous census to examine the identical cohorts when they were at school age. I find that they are more likely to drop out of school and participate in the labor force after the program, and the effect is, again, more marked for boys. The finding is consistent with families preferring healthier children to go to work after improvements in health status.

本研究提供的实证证据表明，1990 年代阿根廷的健康改善计划——市政供水服务私有化——对长期人力资本积累产生了负面影响。利用不同地区和群体的差异，我发现早期儿童接触该计划会减少大约 0.5 年的受教育年限。男性的负面影响更为明显。我进一步使用之前的人口普查来检查在学龄时的相同队列。我发现他们更有可能在项目结束后辍学并参与劳动力市场，而且效果再次对男孩更显着。这一发现与家庭在健康状况改善后更喜欢更健康的孩子去工作的情况一致。