Climate Adaptation Policies and Infant Health: Evidence from a Water Policy in Brazil

This paper studies how in utero exposure to a large-scale climate adaptation program affects birth outcomes. The built around one million cisterns Brazil's poorest and driest region promote small-scale decentralized rainfall harvesting. Access during early pregnancy increased weight, particularly for more educated women. Data suggest that women complied with the program's water disinfection training, highlighting even simple, low-cost technologies require final users' compliance (the last mile) be effective. In context of growing scarcity, policies can foster neonatal health thus have positive long-run implications.