Recent Increases in Air Pollution: Evidence and Implications for Mortality / Karen Clay, Nicholas Z. Muller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Clay, Karen.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Muller, Nicholas Z.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w26381.

NBER working paper series no. w26381

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Recent Increases in Air Pollution

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2019.

Summary:

After declining by 24.2% from 2009 to 2016, annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the United States in counties with monitors increased by 5.5% between 2016 and 2018. Increases occurred in multiple census regions and in counties that were in and out of attainment with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). We explore channels through which the increase may have occurred including increases in economic activity, increases in wildfires, and decreases in Clean Air Act enforcement actions. The health implications of this increase in PM2.5 between 2016 and 2018 are significant. The increase was associated with 9,700 additional premature deaths in 2018. At conventional valuations, these deaths represent damages of $89 billion.

Notes:

Print version record

October 2019.