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The Beneficial Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Air Pollution: Evidence from Vietnam

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  • Hai-Anh H. Dang
  • Trong-Anh Trinh

Abstract

Little evidence currently exists on the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on air quality in low-income countries, where most air pollution-linked deaths occur. We offer the first study on the lockdown impacts in Vietnam, a poorer country with the worsening air pollution that has had a successful fight against early waves of the pandemic. We compile a new, rich database from various sources including satellite air pollution data for the past year from January 2020 to January 2021 that covers both the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic lockdown periods. Employing the Regression Discontinuity Design method, we find NO2 concentration to decrease by 24 per cent to 32 per cent 2 weeks after the COVID-19 lockdown. While these positive effects on air quality are comparable to those found in previous studies on stricter gasoline regulations or transition to cleaner energy sources, they dissipate after 10 weeks. Our findings are robust to different measures of air quality and model specifications. We also find that mobility restrictions are a potential channel for improved air quality. Finally, our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that 2 weeks after the lockdown, the economic gains from better air quality are at least 33.9 million US dollars.

Suggested Citation

  • Hai-Anh H. Dang & Trong-Anh Trinh, 2022. "The Beneficial Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Air Pollution: Evidence from Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(10), pages 1917-1933, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:58:y:2022:i:10:p:1917-1933
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2022.2069492
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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen Frimpong & Harriet Frimpong & Alex Barimah Owusu & Isaac Duah Boateng & Benjamin Adjei, 2023. "Livelihood Changes, Spatial Anticontagion Policy Effects, and Structural Resilience of National Food Systems in a Sub-Saharan African Country Context: A Panel Machine Learning Approach," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-24, November.
    2. Hai-Anh Dang & Minh Do, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic and the Health and Well-being of Vulnerable People in Vietnam," Working Papers 628, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    3. Daniel L. Millimet & Christopher F. Parmeter, 2022. "COVID‐19 severity: A new approach to quantifying global cases and deaths," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(3), pages 1178-1215, July.
    4. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Cong Nguyen, Minh & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2023. "Does hotter temperature increase poverty and inequality? Global evidence from subnational data analysis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120156, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Camino-Mogro, Segundo, 2020. "Turbulence in startups: Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on creation of new firms and its capital," MPRA Paper 104502, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Nguyen, Cuong Viet & Carletto, Calogero, 2023. "Did a successful fight against COVID-19 come at a cost? Impacts of the pandemic on employment outcomes in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    7. Trinh Q. Long, 2021. "Individual Subjective Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Lei, Yiyuan & Ozbay, Kaan, 2021. "A robust analysis of the impacts of the stay-at-home policy on taxi and Citi Bike usage: A case study of Manhattan," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 487-498.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D00 - Microeconomics - - General - - - General
    • H00 - Public Economics - - General - - - General
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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