This is Air: The "Non-Health" Effects of Air Pollution / Sandra Aguilar-Gomez, Holt Dwyer, Joshua S. Graff Zivin, Matthew J. Neidell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Aguilar-Gomez, Sandra.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Dwyer, Holt.

Graff Zivin, Joshua S.

Neidell, Matthew J.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w29848.

NBER working paper series no. w29848

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2022.

Summary:

A robust body of evidence shows that air pollution exposure is detrimental to health outcomes, often measured as deaths and hospitalizations. This literature has focused less on subclinical channels that nonetheless impact behavior, performance, and skills. This article reviews the economic research investigating the causal effects of pollution on "non-health" endpoints, including labor productivity, cognitive performance, and multiple forms of decision making. Subclinical effects of pollution can be more challenging to observe than formal health care encounters but may be more pervasive if they affect otherwise healthy people. The wide variety of possible impacts of pollution should be informed by plausible mechanisms and require appropriate hypothesis testing to limit false discovery. Finally, any detected effects of pollution, both in the short and long run, may be dampened by costly efforts to avoid exposure ex-ante and remediate its impacts ex-post; these costs must be considered for a full welfare analysis

Notes:

Print version record

March 2022.