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Sunlight, Disease, and Institutions
Author(s) -
Ang James B.,
Fredriksson Per G.,
Nurhakim Aqil Luqman bin,
Tay Emerlyn Huiwen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
kyklos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1467-6435
pISSN - 0023-5962
DOI - 10.1111/kykl.12174
Subject(s) - cataracts , sunlight , incentive , disease , blindness , ultraviolet radiation , quality (philosophy) , economics , medicine , optometry , ophthalmology , chemistry , microeconomics , optics , philosophy , physics , epistemology , radiochemistry
SUMMARY Higher exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV‐R) is associated with greater prevalence of eye disease such as cataracts. We hypothesize that the variation in the intensity of UV‐R can help explain the differences in institutional quality observed across countries. The long‐term incentive and ability to improve the quality of institutions decline when the probability of blindness increases. Our reduced‐form cross‐country results support this hypothesis. We then propose that the mechanism works from the impact of UV‐R on the prevalence of eye disease, which in turn shapes institutions. Our empirical evidence lends considerable support to this hypothesis.