IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp12838.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Health Costs of Coal-Fired Power Plants in India

Author

Listed:
  • Barrows, Geoffrey

    (Ecole Polytechnique, Paris)

  • Garg, Teevrat

    (University of California, San Diego)

  • Jha, Akshaya

    (Carnegie Mellon University)

Abstract

This paper estimates the effect of coal-fired power plants on infant mortality in India. We find that a one GW increase in coal-fired capacity corresponds to a 14% increase in infant mortality rates in districts near versus far from the plant site. This effect is 2-3 times larger than estimates from the developed world. Our effects are larger for: (1) older plants, (2) plants located in areas with higher baseline levels of pollution, and (3) plants burning domestic rather than imported coal. The environmental benefits from policy aimed at the power sector are thus likely to be substantially higher if targeted at older plants located in more polluted areas tailored to burn domestic rather than imported coal.

Suggested Citation

  • Barrows, Geoffrey & Garg, Teevrat & Jha, Akshaya, 2019. "The Health Costs of Coal-Fired Power Plants in India," IZA Discussion Papers 12838, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12838
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp12838.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Greenstone & Rema Hanna, 2014. "Environmental Regulations, Air and Water Pollution, and Infant Mortality in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3038-3072, October.
    2. 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.
    3. Catherine Wolfram & Orie Shelef & Paul Gertler, 2012. "How Will Energy Demand Develop in the Developing World?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 119-138, Winter.
    4. Malvina Bondy & Sefi Roth & Lutz Sager, 2020. "Crime Is in the Air: The Contemporaneous Relationship between Air Pollution and Crime," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(3), pages 555-585.
    5. Matthew Gibson, 2019. "Regulation-Induced Pollution Substitution," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(5), pages 827-840, December.
    6. Cropper, Maureen & Gamkhar, Shama & Malik, Kabir & Limonov, Alex & Partridge, Ian, 2012. "The Health Effects of Coal Electricity Generation in India," RFF Working Paper Series dp-12-25, Resources for the Future.
    7. Resul Cesur & Erdal Tekin & Aydogan Ulker, 2017. "Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(600), pages 330-362, March.
    8. Emmanuelle Lavaine & Matthew Neidell, 2017. "Energy Production and Health Externalities: Evidence from Oil Refinery Strikes in France," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(2), pages 447-477.
    9. Tanaka, Shinsuke, 2015. "Environmental regulations on air pollution in China and their impact on infant mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 90-103.
    10. Dave Donaldson & Adam Storeygard, 2016. "The View from Above: Applications of Satellite Data in Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 171-198, Fall.
    11. Bushnell, James B. & Wolfram, Catherine D., 2012. "Enforcement of vintage differentiated regulations: The case of new source review," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 137-152.
    12. Matheis, Mike, 2016. "Local Economic Impacts of Coal Mining in the United States 1870 to 1970," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 76(4), pages 1152-1181, December.
    13. Evan Herrnstadt & Erich Muehlegger, 2015. "Air Pollution and Criminal Activity: Evidence from Chicago Microdata," NBER Working Papers 21787, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Kaivan Munshi & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2005. "Why is Mobility in India so Low? Social Insurance, Inequality, and Growth," CID Working Papers 121, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    15. Olivier Deschênes & Michael Greenstone & Joseph S. Shapiro, 2017. "Defensive Investments and the Demand for Air Quality: Evidence from the NOx Budget Program," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(10), pages 2958-2989, October.
    16. Brian Beach & W. Walker Hanlon, 2018. "Coal Smoke and Mortality in an Early Industrial Economy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(615), pages 2652-2675, November.
    17. Michael L Anderson, 2020. "As the Wind Blows: The Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution on Mortality," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(4), pages 1886-1927.
    18. Sandler, Danielle H. & Sandler, Ryan, 2014. "Multiple event studies in public finance and labor economics: A simulation study with applications," Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, IOS Press, issue 1-2, pages 31-57.
    19. Resul Cesur & Erdal Tekin & Aydogan Ulker, 2017. "Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(600), pages 330-362, March.
    20. Maximilian Auffhammer & Solomon M. Hsiang & Wolfram Schlenker & Adam Sobel, 2013. "Using Weather Data and Climate Model Output in Economic Analyses of Climate Change," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 7(2), pages 181-198, July.
    21. Cropper, Maureen L. & Guttikunda, Sarath & Jawahar, Puja & Lazri, Zachary & Malik, Kabir & Song, Xiao-Peng & Yao, Xinlu, 2019. "Applying Benefit-Cost Analysis to Air Pollution Control in the Indian Power Sector," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(S1), pages 185-205, April.
    22. Luechinger, Simon, 2014. "Air pollution and infant mortality: A natural experiment from power plant desulfurization," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 219-231.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. Maruyama Rentschler,Jun Erik & Leonova,Nadia, 2022. "Air Pollution and Poverty : PM2.5 Exposure in 211 Countries and Territories," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10005, The World Bank.
    3. Kacker, Kanishka & Gupta, Ridhima & Ali , Saif, 2023. "Does Traffic Congestion pose Health Hazards? Evidence from a Highly Congested and Polluted City," EfD Discussion Paper 23-10, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    4. Matthew E. Kahn & Somik Lall, 2022. "Will the Developing World’s Growing Middle Class Support Low Carbon Policies?," NBER Working Papers 30238, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Xinming Du, 2023. "Symptom or Culprit? Social Media, Air Pollution, and Violence," CESifo Working Paper Series 10296, CESifo.
    6. Datt, Gaurav & Maitra, Pushkar & Menon, Nidhiya & Ray, Ranjan & Dey, Sagnik & Chowdhury, Sourangsu, 2020. "Impact of Pollution from Coal on the Anemic Status of Children and Women: Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 13522, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Jun Rentschler & Nadezda Leonova, 2023. "Global air pollution exposure and poverty," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.

    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. Wang, Yangjie & Chen, Xiaohong & Ren, Shenggang, 2019. "Clean energy adoption and maternal health: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. Wang, Linfeng & Shi, Tie & Chen, Hanyi, 2023. "Air pollution and infant mortality: Evidence from China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    3. Adhvaryu, Achyuta & Molina, Teresa & Nyshadham, Anant & Tamayo, Jorge & Torres, Nicolas, 2023. "The health costs of dirty energy: Evidence from the capacity market in Colombia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    4. Xinming Du, 2023. "Symptom or Culprit? Social Media, Air Pollution, and Violence," CESifo Working Paper Series 10296, CESifo.
    5. Cheung, Chun Wai & He, Guojun & Pan, Yuhang, 2020. "Mitigating the air pollution effect? The remarkable decline in the pollution-mortality relationship in Hong Kong," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    6. Chen, Shuo & Li, Yiran & Shi, Guang & Zhu, Zhitao, 2021. "Gone with the wind? Emissions of neighboring coal-fired power plants and local public health in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Duque, Valentina & Gilraine, Michael, 2022. "Coal use, air pollution, and student performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    8. Alessandro Palma & Inna Petrunyk & Daniela Vuri, 2022. "Prenatal air pollution exposure and neonatal health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 729-759, May.
    9. Lyons, Seán & Mao, Likun & Nolan, Anne & O’Sullivan, Vincent, 2023. "The effect of “smoky” coal bans on chronic lung disease among older people in Ireland," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    10. Xiaojing Jia & Xin Luo, 2023. "Residents’ Health Effect of Environmental Regulations in Coal-Dependent Industries: Empirical Evidence from China’s Cement Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-16, January.
    11. Guidetti, Bruna & Pereda, Paula & Severnini, Edson R., 2020. "Health Shocks under Hospital Capacity Constraint: Evidence from Air Pollution in Sao Paulo, Brazil," IZA Discussion Papers 13211, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Chu, Yin & Holladay, J. Scott & Qiu, Yun & Tian, Xian-Liang & Zhou, Maigeng, 2023. "Air Pollution and Mortality Impacts of Coal Mining: Evidence from Coalmine Accidents in China," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1302, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Matthew E. Kahn & Nancy Lozano‐Gracia & Maria Edisa Soppelsa, 2021. "Pollution'S Role In Reducing Urban Quality Of Life In The Developing World," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 330-347, February.
    14. Harrison Fell & Melinda Sandler Morrill, 2024. "The Impact of Wind Energy on Air Pollution and Emergency Department Visits," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(1), pages 287-320, January.
    15. Bruna Morais Guidetti & Paula Carvalho Pereda, Edson Roberto Severnini, 2021. "Health Shocks under Hospital Capacity Constraints: Evidence from Air Pollution in São Paulo, Brazil," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2021_05, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    16. 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.
    17. Chen, Siyu & Guo, Chongshan & Huang, Xinfei, 2018. "Air Pollution, Student Health, and School Absences: Evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 465-497.
    18. Wes Austin & Stefano Carattini & John Gomez Mahecha & Michael Pesko, 2020. "Covid-19 Mortality and Contemporaneous Air Pollution," CESifo Working Paper Series 8609, CESifo.
    19. Gupta, Aashish & Spears, Dean, 2017. "Health externalities of India's expansion of coal plants: Evidence from a national panel of 40,000 households," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 262-276.
    20. Yao, Yao & Li, Xue & Smyth, Russell & Zhang, Lin, 2022. "Air pollution and political trust in local government: Evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    infant mortality; air pollution; India; electricity; coal; infrastructure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:iza:izadps:dp12838. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    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.