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Does the COVID-19 lockdown improve global air quality? New cross-national evidence on its unintended consequences

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  • Dang, Hai-Anh H.
  • Trinh, Trong-Anh

Abstract

Despite a growing literature on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, scant evidence currently exists on its impacts on air quality. We offer an early assessment with cross-national evidence on the causal impacts of COVID-19 on air pollution. We assemble a rich database consisting of daily, sub-national level data of air quality for 164 countries before and after the COVID-19 lockdowns and we analyze it using a Regression Discontinuity Design approach. We find the global concentration of NO2 and PM2.5 to decrease by 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively, using data-driven optimal bandwidth selection. These results are consistent across measures of air quality and data sources and robust to various model specifications and placebo tests. We also find that mobility restrictions following the lockdowns are a possible explanation for improved air quality.

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  • Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2021. "Does the COVID-19 lockdown improve global air quality? New cross-national evidence on its unintended consequences," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:105:y:2021:i:c:s0095069620301248
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2020.102401
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    Cited by:

    1. Segundo Camino‐Mogro & Mary Armijos, 2022. "Short‐term effects of COVID‐19 lockdown on foreign direct investment: Evidence from Ecuadorian firms," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 715-736, May.
    2. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Do, Minh N. N., 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic and the Health and Well-being of Vulnerable People in Vietnam," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1189, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Huang, Linyuan & Xie, Rui & Yang, Guohao, 2022. "The impact of lockdown on air pollution: Evidence from an instrument," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Blackman, Allen & Bonilla, Jorge A. & Villalobos, Laura, 2023. "Quantifying COVID-19’s silver lining: Avoided deaths from air quality improvements in Bogotá," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    5. Sharma, Gagan Deep & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Jain, Mansi & Yadav, Anshita & Srivastava, Mrinalini, 2021. "COVID-19 and environmental concerns: A rapid review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    6. Zhang, Ruohao & Li, Huan & Khanna, Neha, 2021. "Environmental justice and the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from New York State," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    7. Brodeur, Abel & Cook, Nikolai & Wright, Taylor, 2021. "On the effects of COVID-19 safer-at-home policies on social distancing, car crashes and pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    8. Simon Briole & Augustin Colette & Emmanuelle Lavaine, 2023. "The Heterogeneous Effects of Lockdown Policies on Air Pollution," CEE-M Working Papers hal-04084912, CEE-M, Universtiy of Montpellier, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro.
    9. Feng Wang & Min Wu, 2021. "The Impacts of COVID-19 on China’s Economy and Energy in the Context of Trade Protectionism," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-23, December.
    10. Olubusoye, Olusanya E & Akintande, Olalekan J. & Yaya, OlaOluwa S. & Ogbonna, Ahamuefula & Adenikinju, Adeola F., 2021. "Energy Pricing during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Predictive Information-Based Uncertainty Indexes with Machine Learning Algorithm," MPRA Paper 109838, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Karen X. Yan, 2023. "How do the stay-at-home (SAH) orders affect air quality? Evidence from the northeastern USA," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(5), pages 2085-2103, May.
    12. Shah, Muhammad Ibrahim & Foglia, Matteo & Shahzad, Umer & Fareed, Zeeshan, 2022. "Green innovation, resource price and carbon emissions during the COVID-19 times: New findings from wavelet local multiple correlation analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    13. Camino-Mogro, Segundo & Armijos, Mary, 2020. "The effects of COVID-19 lockdown on Foreign Direct Investment: evidence from Ecuadorian firms," MPRA Paper 104821, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Olubusoye, Olusanya E & Yaya, OlaOluwa S. & Ogbonna, Ahamuefula, 2021. "An Information-Based Index of Uncertainty and the predictability of Energy Prices," MPRA Paper 109839, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Duppati, Geeta & Younes, Ben Zaied & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Hunjra, Ahmed Imran, 2023. "Time-varying effects of fuel prices on stock market returns during COVID-19 outbreak," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    16. Burani, Nadia & Mantovani, Andrea, 2024. "Environmental policies with green network effect and price discrimination," TSE Working Papers 24-1513, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Air pollution; Mobility restriction; RDD;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D00 - Microeconomics - - General - - - General
    • H00 - Public Economics - - General - - - General
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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