Mitigating the air pollution effect? The remarkable decline in the pollution-mortality relationship in Hong Kong

Chun Wai Cheung, Guojun He and Yuhang Pan

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2020, vol. 101, issue C

Abstract: Using transboundary pollution from mainland China as an instrument, we show that air pollution leads to higher cardio-respiratory mortality in Hong Kong. However, the air pollution effect has dramatically decreased over the past two decades: before 2003, a 10-unit increase in the Air Pollution Index could lead to a 3.1% increase in monthly cardio-respiratory mortality, but this effect has declined to 0.5% using recent data and is no longer statistically significant. Exploratory analyses suggest that a well-functioning medical system and immediate access to emergency services can help mitigate the contemporaneous effects of pollution on mortality.

Keywords: Air pollution; Health; Transboundary pollution; Healthcare; Emergency service (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 Q52 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:101:y:2020:i:c:s0095069620300395

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2020.102316

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