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Plant size, industrial air pollution, and local incomes: evidence from Mexico and Brazil

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  • Dasgupta, Susmita
  • Lucas, Robert E.B.
  • Wheeler, David

Abstract

Analysis of a new Mexican database reveals that air-borne, suspended particulate emissions per employee by plants with 20 or less employees are significantly greater than by larger plants within the same manufacturing sector. From a second, new data set on manufacturing plants in Brazil, it is shown that industry in lower-income areas displays a higher concentration of the dirtiest industrial sectors and of smaller plants (which are dirtier). However, harm to humans from industrial air pollution in Brazil is found to be greater in higher-income areas and most of this harm derives from larger plants. This is not simply a reflection of the greater prevalence of manufacturing in urban areas, for the rising projections of human mortality among higher wage municipalities hold, even controlling for population density. Resolution of this apparent paradox hinges on the distinction between emission intensities and total emissions, the latter determining the level of harm, a distinction that has not always been made clear in the course of debate.

Suggested Citation

  • Dasgupta, Susmita & Lucas, Robert E.B. & Wheeler, David, 2002. "Plant size, industrial air pollution, and local incomes: evidence from Mexico and Brazil," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 365-381, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:endeec:v:7:y:2002:i:02:p:365-381_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Arazmuradov, Annageldy, 2011. "Energy consumption and carbon dioxide environmental efficiency for former Soviet Union economies. evidence from DEA window analysis," MPRA Paper 36903, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Feb 2012.
    2. Lopamudra Chakraborti & Michael Margolis, 2017. "Do industries pollute more in poorer neighborhoods? Evidence from toxic releasing plants in Mexico," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(2), pages 853-870.
    3. Chakraborti, Lopamudra & Shimshack, Jay P., 2022. "Environmental disparities in urban Mexico: Evidence from toxic water pollution," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Merlevede, Bruno & Verbeke, Tom & De Clercq, Marc, 2006. "The EKC for SO2: Does firm size matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(4), pages 451-461, October.
    5. Nguyen, Minh-Hoang, 2019. "Examining 50-year Time Series Data of Kitakyushu City, Japan: An Aggregate Microeconomic Approach for Environmental Kuznets Curve," Thesis Commons a25wt, Center for Open Science.
    6. Yingming Zhu & Yan Xia, 2019. "Industrial agglomeration and environmental pollution: Evidence from China under New Urbanization," Energy & Environment, , vol. 30(6), pages 1010-1026, September.
    7. Dietrich Earnhart & Lubomir Lizal, 2010. "Pollution Control in a Transition Economy: Do Firms Face Economies and/or Diseconomies of Scale?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp405, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.

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