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New Beginnings: The NOx Budget Trading Program and Infant Health

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  • Nahid Tavassoli

Abstract

This paper examines the impacts of the Nitrogen Oxide Budget Program (NBP), a program that created a cap‐and‐trade market to regulate ozone pollution, on infant health outcomes. I employ the universe of birth records in the US from 1995 to 2008 and estimate how in‐utero exposure to the NBP affected infant health using a triple‐differences strategy. I find that exposure to the NBP improved infant health. Full exposure to the NBP reduces the incidence of low birth weight and very preterm birth by about 5.5% and 13%, respectively. Heterogeneity analyses suggest larger effects among Black mothers, low‐educated mothers, and single mothers. I provide empirical evidence suggesting that endogenous changes in fertility behavior are unlikely to confound the estimates. A series of event studies do not support concerns that the effects reflect pre‐existing trends in birth outcomes. Finally, I discuss the economic significance of the results in light of other exposures and their later‐life impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Nahid Tavassoli, 2026. "New Beginnings: The NOx Budget Trading Program and Infant Health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(2), pages 229-264, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:35:y:2026:i:2:p:229-264
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.70047
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