After the Dust Settles: The Infant Health Impacts of Dust Storms

Benjamin Jones

Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 2020, vol. 7, issue 6, 1005 - 1032

Abstract: Dust storms, a significant source of air pollution, are increasing in frequency around the globe. However, there is limited understanding of their impacts to infant health. I address this gap by investigating US birth outcome effects of within-pregnancy dust storms between 2010 and 2017 using a complete record of documented US dust storm episodes from the National Weather Service. Results suggest that experiencing a dust storm during pregnancy increases the probability of low birth weight and prematurity by 1.4 and 1.8 percentage points, respectively, resulting in average costs of $2.6 million per affected county per year. I find that impacts are largest in magnitude when exposure occurs during the third trimester of pregnancy. PM2.5 is shown to be a potential causal mechanism. Many robustness and falsification tests are performed.

Date: 2020
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