When Externalities Collide: Influenza and Pollution / Joshua S. Graff Zivin, Matthew J. Neidell, Nicholas J. Sanders, Gregor Singer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Graff Zivin, Joshua S.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Neidell, Matthew J.

Sanders, Nicholas J.

Singer, Gregor.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w27982.

NBER working paper series no. w27982

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2020.

Summary:

Influenza and air pollution each pose significant health risks with global economic consequences. Their shared etiological pathways present a case of compounding health risk via interacting externalities. Using instrumental variables based on changing wind direction, we show increased levels of contemporaneous pollution increase influenza hospitalizations. We exploit random variation in effectiveness of the influenza vaccine as an additional instrument to show vaccine protection neutralizes this relationship. Thus, pollution control and vaccination campaigns jointly provide greater returns than those implied by addressing either in isolation. We show the importance of this consideration in addressing observed gaps in influenza incidence by race.

Notes:

Print version record

October 2020.