The effect of pollution on labor supply: Evidence from a natural experiment in Mexico City

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hanna, Rema; Oliva, Paulina
• 署名单位: Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research; IZA Institute Labor Economics; University of California System; University of California Santa Barbara
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.10.004
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 68-79
• 关键词: labor supply; Air pollution

摘要

Moderate effects of pollution on health may exert important influences on work. We exploit exogenous variation in pollution due to the closure of a large refinery in Mexico City to understand how pollution impacts labor supply. The closure led to a 19.7% decline in pollution, as measured by SO2, in the surrounding neighborhoods. The closure led to a 13 h (or 3.5%) increase in work hours per week. The effects do not appear to be driven by differential labor demand shocks nor selective migration. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.