This Is Air: The "Nonhealth" Effects of Air Pollution

Sandra Aguilar-Gomez, Holt Dwyer, Joshua Graff Zivin and Matthew Neidell
Additional contact information
Holt Dwyer: Department of Economics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
Matthew Neidell: Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Annual Review of Resource Economics, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 403-425

Abstract: 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 nonhealth end points, 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, in both 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.

Keywords: air pollution; avoidance behavior; compensatory behavior; crime; human capital; productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I31 J22 J24 Q51 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1146/annurev-resource-111820-021816

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