IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/riskan/v37y2017i9p1742-1753.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Local Control Strategy: Simple Analyses of Air Pollution Data Can Reveal Heterogeneity in Longevity Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Robert L. Obenchain
  • S. Stanley Young

Abstract

Claims from observational studies that use traditional model specification searches often fail to replicate, partially because the available data tend to be biased. There is an urgent need for an alternative statistical analysis strategy, that is not only simple and easily understood but also is more likely to give reliable insights when the available data have not been designed and balanced. The alternative strategy known as local control first generates local, nonparametric effect‐size estimates (fair treatment comparisons) and only then asks whether the observed variation in these local estimates can be predicted from potential confounding factors. Here, we illustrate application of local control to a historical air pollution data set describing a “natural experiment” initiated by the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970. Our reanalysis reveals subgroup heterogeneity in the effects of air quality regulation on elderly longevity (one size does not fit all), and we show that this heterogeneity is largely explained by socioeconomic and environmental confounders other than air quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert L. Obenchain & S. Stanley Young, 2017. "Local Control Strategy: Simple Analyses of Air Pollution Data Can Reveal Heterogeneity in Longevity Outcomes," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(9), pages 1742-1753, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:37:y:2017:i:9:p:1742-1753
    DOI: 10.1111/risa.12749
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12749
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/risa.12749?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chay, Kenneth & Dobkin, Carlos & Greenstone, Michael, 2003. "The Clean Air Act of 1970 and Adult Mortality," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 279-300, December.
    2. Greven, Sonja & Dominici, Francesca & Zeger, Scott, 2011. "An Approach to the Estimation of Chronic Air Pollution Effects Using Spatio-Temporal Information," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 106(494), pages 396-406.
    3. Edward L. Glaeser, 2006. "Researcher Incentives and Empirical Methods," NBER Technical Working Papers 0329, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Kenneth Y. Chay & Michael Greenstone, 2003. "Air Quality, Infant Mortality, and the Clean Air Act of 1970," Working Papers 0406, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
    5. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    6. Ho, Daniel E. & Imai, Kosuke & King, Gary & Stuart, Elizabeth A., 2007. "Matching as Nonparametric Preprocessing for Reducing Model Dependence in Parametric Causal Inference," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 199-236, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cropper, Maureen & Muller, Nicholas & Park, Yongjoon & Perez-Zetune, Victoria, 2023. "The impact of the clean air act on particulate matter in the 1970s," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    2. Jian Jiu Chen & Sai Yin Ho & Wing Man Au & Man Ping Wang & Tai Hing Lam, 2015. "Family Smoking, Exposure to Secondhand Smoke at Home and Family Unhappiness in Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Kube, Roland & von Graevenitz, Kathrine & Löschel, Andreas & Massier, Philipp, 2019. "Do voluntary environmental programs reduce emissions? EMAS in the German manufacturing sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    4. Colmer, Jonathan & Lin, Dajun & Liu, Siying & Shimshack, Jay, 2021. "Why are pollution damages lower in developed countries? Insights from high-Income, high-particulate matter Hong Kong," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    5. Müller, Tobias & Schmid, Christian & Gerfin, Michael, 2023. "Rents for Pills: Financial incentives and physician behavior," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    6. Chen Liang & Yili Hong & Pei-Yu Chen & Benjamin B. M. Shao, 2022. "The Screening Role of Design Parameters for Service Procurement Auctions in Online Service Outsourcing Platforms," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 1324-1343, December.
    7. Deni Mazrekaj & Mirjam M. Fischer & Henny M. W. Bos, 2022. "Behavioral Outcomes of Children with Same-Sex Parents in The Netherlands," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-12, May.
    8. Henderson, John & Janke, Katharina & Propper, Carol, 2007. "Are current levels of air pollution in England too high?: the impact of pollution on population mortality," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6205, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Augusto Cerqua & Guido Pellegrini, 2013. "Beyond the SUTVA: how industrial policy evaluations change when we allow for interaction among firms," ERSA conference papers ersa13p340, European Regional Science Association.
    10. Petrov, Ivan & Ryan, Lisa, 2021. "The landlord-tenant problem and energy efficiency in the residential rental market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    11. Srinivasa, Aditya Korekallu & Praveen, K.V. & Subash, S.P. & Nithyashree, ML & Jha, Girish Kumar, 2021. "Does a Farmer’s Knowledge of Minimum Support Price (MSP) Affect the Farm-Gate Price? Evidence from India," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315205, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Alex Hollingsworth & Ivan Rudik, 2021. "The Effect of Leaded Gasoline on Elderly Mortality: Evidence from Regulatory Exemptions," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 345-373, August.
    13. Macchioni Giaquinto, Annarita & Jones, Andrew M. & Rice, Nigel & Zantomio, Francesca, 2021. "Labour supply and informal care responses to health shocks within couples: evidence from the UKHLS," GLO Discussion Paper Series 806, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Cheng, Zhiming & King, Stephen P. & Smyth, Russell & Wang, Haining, 2016. "Housing property rights and subjective wellbeing in urban China," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 45(S), pages 160-174.
    15. Aaskoven, Maiken Skovrider & Kjær, Trine & Gyrd-Hansen, Dorte, 2022. "Effects of parental health shocks on children's school achievements: A register-based population study," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    16. Rafael Lalive & Simon Luechinger & Armin Schmutzler, 2013. "Does Supporting Passenger Railways Reduce Road Traffic Externalities?," ECON - Working Papers 110, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    17. Mauricio Villamizar‐Villegas & Freddy A. Pinzon‐Puerto & Maria Alejandra Ruiz‐Sanchez, 2022. "A comprehensive history of regression discontinuity designs: An empirical survey of the last 60 years," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1130-1178, September.
    18. Sung‐Hee Jeon, 2017. "The Long‐Term Effects of Cancer on Employment and Earnings," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(5), pages 671-684, May.
    19. Tatyana Deryugina & Garth Heutel & Nolan H. Miller & David Molitor & Julian Reif, 2019. "The Mortality and Medical Costs of Air Pollution: Evidence from Changes in Wind Direction," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(12), pages 4178-4219, December.
    20. Alex Braithwaite & Tiffany S. Chu & Justin Curtis & Faten Ghosn, 2019. "Violence and the perception of risk associated with hosting refugees," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 473-492, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:37:y:2017:i:9:p:1742-1753. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1539-6924 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.