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From Low Emission Zone to academic track: Environmental policy effects on educational achievement in elementary school

Author

Listed:
  • Brehm, Johannes
  • Pestel, Nico
  • Schaffner, Sandra
  • Schmitz, Laura

Abstract

Do long-term improvements in air quality influence children’s educational outcomes? This paper investigates the impact of Low Emission Zones (LEZs), which restrict access to designated areas for emission-intensive vehicles, on the educational achievement of elementary school students in Germany. Using school-level data from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, we exploit the staggered introduction of LEZs since 2008 with a difference-in-differences approach. LEZ implementations increase transition rates to the academic track in secondary education by approximately one percentage point, or 2.4 percent. We validate this finding using more aggregated district-level data across all of Germany. Our findings imply sizable educational co-benefits of reductions in air pollution.

Suggested Citation

  • Brehm, Johannes & Pestel, Nico & Schaffner, Sandra & Schmitz, Laura, 2025. "From Low Emission Zone to academic track: Environmental policy effects on educational achievement in elementary school," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:132:y:2025:i:c:s009506962500049x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103165
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Low Emission Zones; Air quality; Education; Co-benefits;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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