Does Pollution Drive Achievement? The Effect of Traffic Pollution on Academic Performance

Jennifer Heissel, Claudia Persico and David Simon ()
Additional contact information
David Simon: University of Connecticut

No 12745, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We examine the effect of school traffic pollution on student outcomes by leveraging variation in wind patterns for schools the same distance from major highways. We compare within-student achievement for students transitioning between schools near highways, where one school has had greater levels of pollution because it is downwind of a highway. Students who move from an elementary/middle school that feeds into a "downwind" middle/high school in the same zip code experience decreases in test scores, more behavioral incidents, and more absences, relative to when they transition to an upwind school. Even within zip codes, microclimates can contribute to inequality.

Keywords: child health; academic achievement; air pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 I24 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 64 pages
Date: 2019-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env, nep-hea, nep-tre and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Does Pollution Drive Achievement? The Effect of Traffic Pollution on Academic Performance (2022)
Working Paper: Does Pollution Drive Achievement? The Effect of Traffic Pollution on Academic Performance (2019)
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