'Placebo Tests' for the Impacts of Air Pollution on Health: The Challenge of Limited Healthcare Infrastructure

Bruna Guidetti (), Paula Pereda () and Edson Severnini
Additional contact information
Bruna Guidetti: University of Michigan
Paula Pereda: University of Sao Paulo

No 14080, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: When examining the impacts of exposure to air pollution on health outcomes, researchers usually carry out "placebo tests" to provide evidence in support of their identification assumption. In general, this exercise targets health conditions seemingly unrelated to air pollution. In this study, we argue that one should proceed with caution when running such falsification tests. If healthcare infrastructure is limited, when we observe health shocks such as those driven by air pollution, the infrastructure needs to be adjusted to meet the increased demand by canceling or rescheduling elective and non-urgent procedures, for example. As a result, even health conditions seemingly unrelated to air pollution may be indirectly affected by pollution.

Keywords: health outcomes; healthcare infrastructure; air pollution; placebo tests; hospitalization for respiratory diseases and other causes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I15 O13 Q53 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 10 pages
Date: 2021-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env and nep-hea
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Published - published in: AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2021, 111, 371 - 375

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Journal Article: "Placebo Tests" for the Impacts of Air Pollution on Health: The Challenge of Limited Health Care Infrastructure (2021)
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