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What Do We Know About Short- and Long-Term Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Pollution?

Author

Listed:
  • Janet Currie

    (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544)

  • Joshua Graff Zivin

    (School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
    Department of Economics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093)

  • Jamie Mullins

    (Department of Economics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093)

  • Matthew Neidell

    (Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032)

Abstract

Evidence shows that pollution exposure early in life is detrimental to near-term health, and an increasing body of evidence suggests that early-childhood health influences health and human capital outcomes later in life. This article reviews the economic research that brings these two literatures together. We begin with a conceptual model that highlights the core relationships across the life cycle. We then review the literature concerned with such estimates, focusing particularly on identification strategies to mitigate concerns regarding endogenous exposure. The nascent empirical literature provides both direct and indirect evidence that early-childhood exposure to pollution significantly impacts later-life outcomes. We discuss the potential policy implications of these long-lasting effects and conclude with a number of promising avenues for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Janet Currie & Joshua Graff Zivin & Jamie Mullins & Matthew Neidell, 2014. "What Do We Know About Short- and Long-Term Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Pollution?," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 217-247, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:anr:reseco:v:6:y:2014:p:217-247
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    File URL: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-resource-100913-012610
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    Keywords

    child; environment; human capital; health; latent; avoidance behavior;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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