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Lead in drinking water and birth outcomes: A tale of two water treatment plants

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  • Dave, Dhaval M.
  • Yang, Muzhe

Abstract

The recent lead-in-water crisis in Newark has renewed concerns about the crisis being a widespread problem in the nation. Using data on the exact home addresses of pregnant women residing in the city combined with information on the spatial boundary separating areas within the city serviced by two water treatment plants, we exploit an exogenous change in water chemistry that resulted in lead leaching into the tap water of one plant’s service area, but not the other’s, to identify a causal effect of prenatal lead exposure on fetal health. We find robust evidence of adverse health impacts, which has important policy implications in light of the substantial number of lead water pipes that remain in use as part of our aging infrastructure and the cost-benefit calculus of lead abatement interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Dave, Dhaval M. & Yang, Muzhe, 2022. "Lead in drinking water and birth outcomes: A tale of two water treatment plants," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:84:y:2022:i:c:s0167629622000637
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102644
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    2. Da Mata, Daniel & Emanuel, Lucas & Pereira, Vitor & Sampaio, Breno, 2023. "Climate adaptation policies and infant health: Evidence from a water policy in Brazil," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    3. Karen Clay & Alex Hollingsworth & Edson R. Severnini, 2023. "The Impact of Lead Exposure on Fertility, Infant Mortality, and Infant Birth Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 31379, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Tuviere Onookome-Okome & Angel Hsu & Dean G. Kilpatrick & Angela Moreland & Aaron Reuben, 2023. "Association of Public Works Disasters with Substance Use Difficulties: Evidence from Flint, Michigan, Five Years after the Water Crisis Onset," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(23), pages 1-12, November.
    5. Jason Fletcher & Hamid Noghanibehambari, 2023. "Toxified to the Bone: Early-Life and Childhood Exposure to Lead and Men’s Old-Age Mortality," NBER Working Papers 31957, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Birth outcomes; Lead; Water pollution; Water treatment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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