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Running With a Mask? The Effect of Air Pollution on Marathon Runners’ Performance

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  • Mengmeng Guo
  • Shihe Fu

Abstract

Using a sample of more than 0.3 million marathon runners of 56 race events in China in 2014 and 2015, we estimate the air pollution elasticity of finish time to be 0.041. Our causal identification comes from the exogeneity of air pollution on the race day because runners are required to register for a race a few months in advance and we control for confounding factors. Including individual fixed effects also provides consistent evidence. Our study contributes to the emerging literature on the effect of air pollution on short-run productivity, particularly on the performance of athletes engaging in outdoor sports.

Suggested Citation

  • Mengmeng Guo & Shihe Fu, 2019. "Running With a Mask? The Effect of Air Pollution on Marathon Runners’ Performance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(7), pages 903-928, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:20:y:2019:i:7:p:903-928
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002518822701
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Min Zhang & Mark D. Partridge & Huasheng Song, 2020. "Amenities and the geography of innovation: evidence from Chinese cities," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 65(1), pages 105-145, August.
    3. Shihe Fu & V. Brian Viard, 2022. "A mayors perspective on tackling air pollution," Chapters, in: Charles K.Y. Leung (ed.), Handbook of Real Estate and Macroeconomics, chapter 16, pages 413-437, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Matthew Neidell & Nico Pestel, 2023. "Air pollution and worker productivity," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 363-363, February.
    5. Guo, Mengmeng & Wei, Mengxin & Huang, Lin, 2022. "Does air pollution influence investor trading behavior? Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    6. Yun Qiu & Jinhua Zhao, 2022. "Adaptation and the distributional effects of heat: Evidence from professional archery competitions," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(3), pages 1149-1177, January.
    7. Rowland, Neil & McVicar, Duncan & Vlachos, Stavros & Jahanshahi, Babak & McGovern, Mark E. & O’Reilly, Dermot, 2024. "Long-term Exposure to Ambient PM2.5 and Population Health: Evidence from Longitudinally-linked Census Data," QBS Working Paper Series 2024/01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's Business School.
    8. Shiyu Bo, 2021. "Environmental Regulations, Political Incentives and Local Economic Activities: Evidence from China," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(3), pages 812-835, June.
    9. Naidenova, Iuliia & Parshakov, Petr & Suvorov, Sergei, 2022. "Air pollution and individual productivity: Evidence from the Ironman Triathlon results," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    10. Yu Qin & Jing Wu & Rongjie Zhang, 2022. "Can Professional Football Players Adapt to Air Pollution? Evidence From China," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 23(3), pages 277-300, April.
    11. Wei, Xiahai & Li, Jianan & Liu, Hongyou & Wan, Jiangtao, 2023. "Temperature and outdoor productivity: Evidence from professional soccer players," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Jakub Ryszard Stempień & Magdalena Dąbkowska-Dworniak & Małgorzata Stańczyk & Marcin Tkaczyk & Bartłomiej Przybylski, 2022. "Particular Dimensions of the Social Impact of Leisure Running: Study of Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    13. Li, Hao & Guo, Huanxiu & Huang, Naqun & Ye, Jingjing, 2020. "Health risks of exposure to waste pollution: Evidence from Beijing," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

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