James Winter
Graduate Student Research Fellowship | 2019 - 2020 Academic Year
The Impact of Piped Water Systems on Time Poverty, Economic Productivity, and Health in Rural Zambian Households
For the past decade, the dominant paradigm of rural water provision in sub-Saharan Africa has centered on shared community water sources, usually through boreholes with handpumps. However, evidence from the environmental engineering literature has failed to show significant economic or health benefits for households receiving their water from these off-premises sources. Winter's project is to measure the impact of transitioning to a high-quality source of water piped directly to the household’s yard on household economic activity, female entrepreneurship, and water quality.
James Winter, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
James Winter is a PhD student in the civil & environmental engineering department, advised by Dr. Jenna Davis. His research focuses on the impact of providing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) education and infrastructure on health, economic, and hygiene outcomes. He has worked extensively in El Salvador and southern Zambia, and lived in Zambia from January to September 2018 as part of his Fulbright Student Research fellowship. He graduated from Harvard University in 2011 with a degree in applied mathematics.