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Pollution, Ability, and Gender-Specific Responses to Shocks

Author

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  • Teresa Molina

    (University of Hawaii at Manoa Department of Economics)

Abstract

This paper explores how labor market conditions drive gender differences in the human capital decisions of men and women, focusing on how their schooling decisions respond to an exogenous change in cognitive ability. Using data from Mexico, I begin by documenting that in utero exposure to air pollution leads to lower cognitive ability in adulthood for both men and women. I then explore how male and female schooling decisions respond differentially to this cognitive shock: for women only, pollution exposure leads to reduced educational attainment and income. I show that two labor market features are fully responsible for this gender difference: (1) women sort into white-collar occupations at higher rates, and (2) schooling and ability are more complementary in white-collar than blue-collar occupations.

Suggested Citation

  • Teresa Molina, 2019. "Pollution, Ability, and Gender-Specific Responses to Shocks," CINCH Working Paper Series 1905, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health.
    • Handle: RePEc:duh:wpaper:1905
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    File URL: https://cinch.uni-due.de/fileadmin/content/research/workingpaper/cinch-WP-2019-05.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2019
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Xi & Zhang, Xiaobo & Zhang, Xin, 2017. "Smog in Our Brains: Gender Differences in the Impact of Exposure to Air Pollution on Cognitive Performance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 32, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Rashesh Shrestha, 2019. "Early Life Exposure to Air Pollution, Cognitive Development, and Labor Market Outcome," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 18(2), pages 77-95, Summer.
    3. Yamada,Takahiro & Yamada,Hiroyuki & Mani,Muthukumara S., 2021. "The Causal Effects of Long-Term PM2.5 Exposure on COVID-19 in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9543, The World Bank.
    4. Nicholas W Papageorge & Kevin Thom, 2020. "Genes, Education, and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1351-1399.
    5. Joan Calzada & Meritxell Gisbert & Bernard Moscoso, 2021. "The hidden cost of bananas: pesticide effects on newborns’ health," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2021/405, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    6. Achyuta Adhvaryu & Steven Bednar & Teresa Molina & Quynh Nguyen & Anant Nyshadham, 2020. "When It Rains It Pours: The Long-Run Economic Impacts of Salt Iodization in the United States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(2), pages 395-407, May.
    7. Kronenberg, Christoph, 2020. "New(spaper) Evidence of a Reduction in Suicide Mentions during the 19th‐century US Gold Rush," CINCH Working Paper Series (since 2020) 73382, Duisburg-Essen University Library, DuEPublico.
    8. Shuai Chen & Paulina Oliva & Peng Zhang, 2017. "The Effect of Air Pollution on Migration: Evidence from China," NBER Working Papers 24036, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Fischer, Martin & Karlsson, Martin & Prodromidis, Nikolaos, 2021. "Long‐term Effects of Hospital Deliveries," CINCH Working Paper Series (since 2020) 74712, Duisburg-Essen University Library, DuEPublico.
    10. Chen, Xi & Zhang, Xiaobo & Zhang, Xin, 2017. "Smog in our brains: Gender differences in the impact of exposure to air pollution on cognitive performance in China," IFPRI discussion papers 1619, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender; occupational choice; early life; pollution; education; Mexico;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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