> A new household survey of nearly 23,000 north Indians offers more evidence, especially from Hindu households. Led by Diane Coffey, an economist at Princeton, it found that even among households with a working latrine, more than 40% reported that at least one family member preferred to defecate in the open.
People prefer to defecate in the open only because belive it is or not, open is 'cleaner' than inside. Most toilets require a subtantial amount of water to keep clean after every use and water is in short supply in north india. Without adequate flushing the toilet quickly becomes a stinkhole and outside offers a much better experience.
The princeton economist who wrote this intelligent study should have included talking to atleast one guy who stays in north india as part of her research.
There are many other countries that have similar poor plumbing infrastructure like India, but no where near the rates of open defecation. I had a friend who took a summer job in Mexico with an NGO that built pit-style toilets, and the villagers used them.
Heck, even within India itself, the vastly different open defecation rates between Hindus and Muslims point to the fact that the main factor is cultural, not just logistical.
Wow, Cunningham's law in action! Thanks for posting, that sounds like a fascinating study. May simply be a case of bad toilets, though; from the article: "Those with a government-built toilet were especially likely to choose a bush instead."
EDIT: All cultural change is just slow. Give a European toilet to someone who's been using squat latrines all 40 years of their life and they'll perch. Give it to a younger person, and they'll learn the new way.
Also, it looks like the cited statistic is a bit dramatic; only 21% of individuals who live in a household with a latrine practice open defecation. 80% efficacy is pretty good in social interventions. The household stat basically just says to me, "most Indian households include elderly members, who don't want to change their ways".
> A new household survey of nearly 23,000 north Indians offers more evidence, especially from Hindu households. Led by Diane Coffey, an economist at Princeton, it found that even among households with a working latrine, more than 40% reported that at least one family member preferred to defecate in the open.
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21607837-fixing-dreadful-...