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Mitigating the air pollution effect? The remarkable decline in the pollution-mortality relationship in Hong Kong

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  • Cheung, Chun Wai
  • He, Guojun
  • Pan, Yuhang

Abstract

Using transboundary pollution from mainland China as an instrument, we show that air pollution leads to higher cardio-respiratory mortality in Hong Kong. However, the air pollution effect has dramatically decreased over the past two decades: before 2003, a 10-unit increase in the Air Pollution Index could lead to a 3.1% increase in monthly cardio-respiratory mortality, but this effect has declined to 0.5% using recent data and is no longer statistically significant. Exploratory analyses suggest that a well-functioning medical system and immediate access to emergency services can help mitigate the contemporaneous effects of pollution on mortality.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:101:y:2020:i:c:s0095069620300395
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2020.102316
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    11. He, Guojun & Liu, Tong & Zhou, Maigeng, 2020. "Straw burning, PM2.5, and death: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    12. Yongyan Huang & Shilong Li, 2022. "Can Marketization of Environmental Governance Improve Public Health?—Empirical Analysis Based on the Emission Trading System," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-15, November.
    13. Wang, Linfeng & Shi, Tie & Chen, Hanyi, 2023. "Air pollution and infant mortality: Evidence from China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
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    15. Matthew A. Cole & Robert J R Elliott & Bowen Liu, 2020. "The Impact of the Wuhan Covid-19 Lockdown on Air Pollution and Health: A Machine Learning and Augmented Synthetic Control Approach," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 553-580, August.
    16. Baohua Liu & Junfeng Wu & Kam C. Chan, 2021. "Does air pollution change a firm's business strategy for employing capital and labor?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3671-3685, December.
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    18. Magambo, Isaiah & Dikgang, Johane & Gelo, Dambala & Tregenna, Fiona, 2021. "Gold-Mining Pollution Exposure, Health Effects and Private Healthcare Expenditure in Tanzania," MPRA Paper 108800, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Yang Bai & Yi Zhou & Juha M. Alatalo & Alice C. Hughes, 2020. "Changes in Air Quality during the First-Level Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic in Shanghai Municipality, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-12, October.
    20. Bagilet, Vincent & Zabrocki-Hallak, Léo, 2022. "Why Some Acute Health Effects of Air Pollution Could Be Inflated," I4R Discussion Paper Series 11, The Institute for Replication (I4R).
    21. Shujuan Li & Enyi Zhou & Peng Zhang & Yu Xia, 2022. "A Pollution Prevention Pathway Evaluation Methodology Based on Systematic Collaborative Control," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-19, July.
    22. Qiu, Yun & Liu, Yunning & Shi, Wei & Zhou, Maigeng, 2024. "The impact of ozone pollution on mortality: Evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    23. Zhiming Yang & Zhen Wang & Xiao-Chen Yuan & Yu Qi & Yunquan Zhang & Weiqing Wang & Fanglin He & Jing Li, 2022. "Does income inequality aggravate the impacts of air pollution on physical health? Evidence from China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2120-2144, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Air pollution; Health; Transboundary pollution; Healthcare; Emergency service;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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