AS THE WIND BLOWS: THE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION ON MORTALITY

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Anderson, Michael L.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1542-4766
• DOI: 10.1093/jeea/jvz051
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 1886-1927
• 关键词: ultrafine particles; infant-mortality; life expectancy; QUALITY; HEALTH; INDOOR; IMPACT; association; responses; BEHAVIOR

摘要

There is strong evidence that short-run fluctuations in air pollution negatively impact infant health and contemporaneous adult health, but there is less evidence on the causal link between long-term exposure to air pollution and increased adult mortality. This project estimates the impact of long-term exposure to air pollution on mortality by leveraging quasi-random variation in pollution levels generated by wind patterns near major highways. I combine geocoded data on the residence of every decedent in Los Angeles over three years, high-frequency wind data, and Census short form data. Using these data, I estimate the effect of downwind exposure to highway-generated pollutants on the age-specific mortality rate by using orientation to the nearest major highway as an instrument for pollution exposure. I find that doubling the percentage of time spent downwind of a highway increases mortality among individuals 75 or older by 3.8%-6.5%. These estimates are robust and imply significant loss of life years.