A Dam Problem : TVA ' s Fight Against Malaria 1926

The TVA has long been held in high esteem for its programs designed to reduce malaria mortality and morbidity rates in the Southeast following its establishment in 1933. One reason why the TVA developed the anti-malaria programs was that they created large bodies of standing water by damming up the Tennessee River and its tributaries. Given the recent increase in river system management projects around the globe and recurring problems with malaria, the TVA provides insight to the problems associated with large scale dams and water management. Using county level panel data from the Southeast United States, I find that the net effect of the TVA was to increase malaria morbidity and mortality rates following its construction. Using standard statistical life value estimates, I find that between 1933 and 1951 that the malaria cost was large enough to offset 24 percent of the fiscal stimulus multiplier generated by the TVA.