Does Air Pollution Decrease Labor Supply of the Rural Middle-Aged and Elderly?

Qiaolong Huang, Yu Yvette Zhang, Qin Chen and Manxiu Ning
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Qiaolong Huang: College of Economics and Management, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Yu Yvette Zhang: Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Qin Chen: College of Economics and Management, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Manxiu Ning: College of Economics and Management, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of air pollution on the labor supply of the middle-aged and elderly in rural China. The results suggest that exposure to high concentrations of PM 2.5 has detrimental effects on working hours of the middle-aged and elderly. We further demonstrate the heterogeneous effects of PM 2.5 by income and geographic regions. In particular, people with vulnerable economic conditions are more likely than others to reduce their labor hours due to PM 2.5 exposure. Moreover, higher PM 2.5 levels affected people in Central and Northeastern China more significantly than those in other regions.

Keywords: air pollution; PM 2.5; labor supply; rural China; middle-aged; elderly (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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