Particulate Pollution and the Productivity of Pear Packers

Tom Chang, Joshua Graff Zivin, Tal Gross and Matthew Neidell

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2016, vol. 8, issue 3, 141-69

Abstract: We study the effect of outdoor air pollution on the productivity of indoor workers at a pear-packing factory. Increases in fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a pollutant that readily penetrates indoors, leads to significant decreases in productivity, with effects arising at levels below air quality standards. In contrast, pollutants that do not travel indoors, such as ozone, have little, if any, effect on productivity. This effect of outdoor pollution on indoor worker productivity suggests an overlooked consequence of pollution. Back-of-the envelope calculations suggest the labor savings from nationwide reductions in PM2.5 generated a sizable fraction of total welfare benefits.

JEL-codes: D24 J24 L66 Q13 Q51 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20150085
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (222)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20150085 (application/pdf)
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/attachments?retrie ... f8KaRPiqskxY4l79fo2y (application/zip)
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/attachments?retrie ... rEw4p0m4XlIZx8zBFw9T (application/zip)

Related works:
Working Paper: Particulate Pollution and the Productivity of Pear Packers (2014)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:8:y:2016:i:3:p:141-69

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/subscriptions

Access Statistics for this article

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy is currently edited by Matthew Shapiro

More articles in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy from American Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Michael P. Albert ().