Pollution, Infectious Disease, and Mortality: Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic

Karen Clay, Joshua Lewis and Edson Severnini

No 21635, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic killed millions worldwide and hundreds of thousands in the United States. This paper studies the impact of air pollution on pandemic mortality. The analysis combines a panel dataset on infant and all-age mortality with a novel measure of air pollution based on the burning of coal in a large sample of U.S. cities. We estimate that air pollution contributed significantly to pandemic mortality. Cities that used more coal experienced tens of thousands of excess deaths in 1918 relative to cities that used less coal with similar pre-pandemic socioeconomic conditions and baseline health. Factors related to poverty, public health, and the timing of onset also affected pandemic mortality. The findings support recent medical evidence on the link between air pollution and influenza infection, and suggest that poor air quality was an important cause of mortality during the pandemic.

JEL-codes: I15 I18 N32 N52 Q40 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env, nep-hea and nep-his
Note: DAE EEE
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published as Karen Clay & Joshua Lewis & Edson Severnini, 2018. "Pollution, Infectious Disease, and Mortality: Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic," The Journal of Economic History, vol 78(04), pages 1179-1209.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Pollution, Infectious Disease, and Mortality: Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic (2018)
Working Paper: Pollution, Infectious Disease, and Mortality: Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic (2015)
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