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Killer Cities: Past and Present

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  • W. Walker Hanlon
  • Yuan Tian

Abstract

The industrial cities of the 19th century were incredibly unhealthy places to live. How much progress has been made in reducing these negative health effects over the past 150 years? To help answer this question, we compare mortality patterns in 19th century England to those in Chinese urban areas in 2000. We document that substantial improvements have been made in improving health in cities over this period. Unlike historical English cities, large cities in China have lower mortality than less populated areas. However, we also provide evidence that in China a substantial relationship between industrial pollution and mortality remains.

Suggested Citation

  • W. Walker Hanlon & Yuan Tian, 2015. "Killer Cities: Past and Present," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 570-575, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:105:y:2015:i:5:p:570-75
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20151071
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Clay, Karen & Lewis, Joshua & Severnini, Edson R., 2016. "Canary in a Coal Mine: Infant Mortality, Property Values, and Tradeoffs Associated with Mid-20th Century Air Pollution," IZA Discussion Papers 9884, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Guidetti, Bruna & Pereda, Paula & Severnini, Edson R., 2020. "Health Shocks under Hospital Capacity Constraint: Evidence from Air Pollution in Sao Paulo, Brazil," IZA Discussion Papers 13211, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Bailey, Roy E. & Hatton, Timothy J. & Inwood, Kris, 2016. "Atmospheric Pollution and Child Health in Late Nineteenth Century Britain," IZA Discussion Papers 10428, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Jonathan J. ADAMS, 2022. "Urbanization, Long-run Growth, and the Demographic Transition," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 88(1), pages 31-37, March.
    5. Matthew E. Kahn & Nancy Lozano‐Gracia & Maria Edisa Soppelsa, 2021. "Pollution'S Role In Reducing Urban Quality Of Life In The Developing World," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 330-347, February.
    6. W. Walker Hanlon, 2015. "Pollution and Mortality in the 19th Century," NBER Working Papers 21647, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Siqi Zheng & Matthew E. Kahn, 2017. "A New Era of Pollution Progress in Urban China?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 71-92, Winter.
    8. Pueyo, Salvador, 2020. "Jevons' paradox and a tax on aviation to prevent the next pandemic," SocArXiv vb5q3, Center for Open Science.
    9. Marina Gindelsky & Remi Jedwab, 2023. "Killer cities and industrious cities? New data and evidence on 250 years of urban growth," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 179-208.
    10. Dugan, Anna & Prskawetz, Alexia & Raffin, Natacha, 2022. "The Environment, Life Expectancy and Growth in Overlapping Generations Models: A Survey," ECON WPS - Working Papers in Economic Theory and Policy 01/2022, TU Wien, Institute of Statistics and Mathematical Methods in Economics, Economics Research Unit.
    11. Jäger, Philipp, 2023. "Can pensions save lives? Evidence from the introduction of old-age assistance in the UK," Ruhr Economic Papers 995, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    12. Bruna Morais Guidetti & Paula Carvalho Pereda, Edson Roberto Severnini, 2021. "Health Shocks under Hospital Capacity Constraints: Evidence from Air Pollution in São Paulo, Brazil," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2021_05, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    13. Quintero, Luis E. & Roberts, Mark, 2023. "Cities and productivity: Evidence from 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N90 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • P25 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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