Caution, Drivers! Children Present: Traffic, Pollution, and Infant Health / Christopher R. Knittel, Douglas L. Miller, Nicholas J. Sanders.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Knittel, Christopher R.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Miller, Douglas L.

Sanders, Nicholas J.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w17222.

NBER working paper series no. w17222

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Caution, Drivers! Children Present

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2011.

Summary:

Since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA), atmospheric concentration of local pollutants has fallen drastically. A natural question is whether further reductions will yield additional health benefits. We further this research by addressing two related research questions: (1) what is the impact of automobile driving (and especially congestion) on ambient air pollution levels, and (2) what is the impact of modern air pollution levels on infant health? Our setting is California (with a focus on the Central Valley and Southern California) in the years 2002-2007. Using an instrumental variables approach that exploits the relationship between traffic, ambient weather conditions, and various pollutants, our findings suggest that ambient pollution levels, specifically particulate matter, still have large impacts on weekly infant mortality rates. Our results also illustrate the importance of weather controls in measuring pollution's impact on infant mortality.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2011.