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The Effects of Air Pollution on Students’ Cognitive Performance: Evidence from Brazilian University Entrance Tests

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  • Juliana Carneiro
  • Matthew A. Cole
  • Eric Strobl

Abstract

We examine the contemporaneous causal relationship between outdoor air pollution levels and student cognitive performance in Brazil’s nationwide university entrance examinations. Our analysis relies upon a unique and previously unexplored student-level data set allowing us to examine the effect of particulate matter (PM10) on students’ scores. In our main specification we construct individual-level panel data for the 2 days of exams across 3 years and apply student fixed effects to address potential endogeneity concerns. In addition, we take advantage of plausibly exogenous spatial and temporal variation in PM10 across municipalities in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and utilize an instrumental variable approach based on wind direction. Our results suggest that air pollution negatively impacts the cognitive performance of students. We find suggestive evidence that boys may be more affected than girls, and less well-off exam takers at the bottom of the score distribution are more affected than their more privileged counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Juliana Carneiro & Matthew A. Cole & Eric Strobl, 2021. "The Effects of Air Pollution on Students’ Cognitive Performance: Evidence from Brazilian University Entrance Tests," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(6), pages 1051-1077.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jaerec:doi:10.1086/714671
    DOI: 10.1086/714671
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Xiaoguang & Chen, Luoye & Xie, Wei & Mueller, Nathaniel D. & Davis, Steven J., 2023. "Flight delays due to air pollution in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Shr, Yau-Huo & Hsu, Wen & Hwang, Bing-Fang & Jung, Chau-Ren, 2023. "Air quality and risky behaviors on roads," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    3. Nikolai Cook, Anthony Heyes, Nicholas Rivers, 2023. "Clean Air and Cognitive Productivity: Effect and Adaptation," LCERPA Working Papers bm0137, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis.
    4. Robert Metcalfe & Sefi Roth, 2025. "Making the Invisible Visible: The Impact of Revealing Indoor Air Pollution on Behavior and Welfare," Framed Field Experiments 00819, The Field Experiments Website.
    5. Luis Sarmiento & Adam Nowakowski, 2023. "Court Decisions and Air Pollution: Evidence from Ten Million Penal Cases in India," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 86(3), pages 605-644, November.
    6. Timothy Halliday & Rachel Inafuku & Lester Lusher & Aureo de Paula, 2022. "VOG: Using volcanic eruptions to estimate the impact of air pollution on student learning outcomes," POID Working Papers 051, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Zhenyu Yao & Wei Zhang & Xinde Ji & Weizhe Weng, 2023. "Short-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Cognitive Performance: New Evidence from China’s College English Test," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(1), pages 211-237, May.
    8. Liu, Xin & Wu, Dewang, 2024. "Does PM2.5 accelerate the firm evolution? Evidence from 800-mm isoline in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    9. Gilraine, Michael & Zheng, Angela, 2024. "JUE insight: Air pollution and student performance in the U.S," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    10. Paudel, Jayash, 2023. "Do environmental disasters affect human capital? The threat of forest fires," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    11. Mario Liebensteiner & Alex Mburu Kimani, 2025. "Environmental and Health Costs of Europe’s Shift from Gas to Coal Amidst the Energy Crisis," CESifo Working Paper Series 12037, CESifo.
    12. Rachel Inafuku & Timothy J Halliday & Lester Lusher & Áureo de Paula, 2025. "Vog: using volcanic eruptions to estimate the impact of air pollution on student test scores," IFS Working Papers W25/07, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    13. Camille Salesse, 2022. "Inequality in exposure to air pollution in France: bringing pollutant cocktails into the picture," CEE-M Working Papers hal-03882438, CEE-M, Universtiy of Montpellier, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro.
    14. Christina M. Andersen & Jørgen Brandt & Jesper H. Christensen & Lise M. Frohn & Camilla Geels & Timo Hener & Marianne Simonsen & Lars Skipper, 2024. "Air Pollution and Cognition in Children: Evidence from National Tests in Denmark," CESifo Working Paper Series 11434, CESifo.
    15. Sergio Venegas Marin & Lara Schwarz & Shwetlena Sabarwal, 2024. "The Impact of Climate Change on Education and What to Do about It," World Bank Publications - Reports 41483, The World Bank Group.
    16. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Do, Minh N.N. & Nguyen, Cuong Viet, 2025. "The impacts of climate change and air pollution on children’s education outcomes: Evidence from Vietnam," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    17. repec:osf:osfxxx:pcva2_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Qi He & Xinde (James) Ji, 2021. "The Labor Productivity Consequences of Exposure to Particulate Matters: Evidence from a Chinese National Panel Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-22, December.
    19. Juliana Carneiro & Matthew A. Cole & Eric Strobl, 2024. "Foetal Exposure to Air Pollution and Students' Cognitive Performance: Evidence from Agricultural Fires in Brazil," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 86(1), pages 156-186, February.
    20. Chen, Pan, 2025. "Industrialization and pollution: The long-term Impact of early-life exposure on human capital formation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    21. Sandra Aguilar-Gomez & Nathaly M. Rivera, 2024. "Air Pollution in the Global South: An Overview of Its Sources and Impacts," Working Papers wp561, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    22. Wen Hsu & Bing-Fang Hwang & Chau-Ren Jung & Yau-Huo Jimmy Shr, 2021. "Can Air Pollution Save Lives? Air Quality and Risky Behaviors on Roads," Papers 2111.06837, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2021.
    23. Metcalfe, Robert & Roth, Sefi, 2025. "Making the invisible visible: the impact of revealing indoor air pollution on behavior and welfare," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 128514, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    24. Singh, Tejendra Pratap, 2022. "Beyond The Haze: Air Pollution and Student Absenteeism - Evidence from India," OSF Preprints pcva2, Center for Open Science.

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