Low Emission Zones for Better Health: Evidence from German Hospitals

Nico Pestel and Florian Wozny ()
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Florian Wozny: German Aerospace Center DLR

No 12545, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper studies health effects from restricting the access of high-emission vehicles to innercities by implementing Low Emission Zones. For identification, we exploit variation in the timing and the spatial distribution of the introduction of new Low Emission Zones across cities in Germany. We use detailed hospitalization data combined with geo-coded information on the coverage of Low Emission Zones. We find that Low Emission Zones significantly reduce levels of air pollution in urban areas and that these improvements in air quality translate into population health benefits. The number of diagnoses related to air pollution is significantly reduced for hospitals located within or in close proximity to a Low Emission Zone after it becomes effective. The results are mainly driven by reductions in chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

Keywords: health; air pollution; Low Emission Zone; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 Q52 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2019-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env, nep-eur, nep-hea, nep-reg, nep-tre and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

Published - revised version published as 'Health Effects of Low Emission Zones: Evidence from German Hospitals' in: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 109, 2021, 102512

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Related works:
Working Paper: Low Emission Zones for Better Health: Evidence from German Hospitals (2019)
Working Paper: Low Emission Zones for Better Health: Evidence from German Hospitals (2019)
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