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The Changing Nature of Pollution, Income, and Environmental Inequality in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Colmer
  • Suvy Qin
  • John Voorheis
  • Reed Walker

Abstract

This paper uses administrative tax records linked to Census demographic data and high-resolution measures of fine small particulate (PM2.5) exposure to study the evolution of the Black-White pollution exposure gap over the past 40 years. In doing so, we focus on the various ways in which income may have contributed to these changes using a statistical decomposition. We decompose the overall change in the Black-White PM2.5 exposure gap into (1) components that stem from rank-preserving compression in the overall pollution distribution and (2) changes that stem from a reordering of Black and White households within the pollution distribution. We find a significant narrowing of the Black-White PM2.5 exposure gap over this time period that is overwhelmingly driven by rank-preserving changes rather than positional changes. However, the relative positions of Black and White households at the upper end of the pollution distribution have meaningfully shifted in the most recent years.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Colmer & Suvy Qin & John Voorheis & Reed Walker, 2024. "The Changing Nature of Pollution, Income, and Environmental Inequality in the United States," Working Papers 24-04, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:24-04
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    File URL: https://www2.census.gov/library/working-papers/2024/adrm/ces/CES-WP-24-04.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Patrick Bayer & Kerwin Kofi Charles, 2018. "Divergent Paths: A New Perspective on Earnings Differences Between Black and White Men Since 1940," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(3), pages 1459-1501.
    2. Janet Currie & John Voorheis & Reed Walker, 2023. "What Caused Racial Disparities in Particulate Exposure to Fall? New Evidence from the Clean Air Act and Satellite-Based Measures of Air Quality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(1), pages 71-97, January.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ivan Rudik & Derek Lemoine & Antonia Marcheva, 2025. "Equity and Efficiency in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Adaptation Investments," Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(1), pages 65-100.
    3. Grislain-Letrémy, Céline & Sixou, Julie & Sotura, Aurélie, 2025. "Urban heat islands and income inequalities: Evidence from French cities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    4. Björn Bos & Moritz A. Drupp & Lutz Sager, 2025. "The Distributional Effects of Low Emission Zones: Who Benefits from Cleaner Air?," CESifo Working Paper Series 11739, CESifo.
    5. Lester Lusher & Tim Ruberg, 2024. "Unveiling the Unseen Illness: Public Health Warnings and Heat Stroke," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2024-020, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    6. C. Grislain-Letremy & J. Sixou & A. Sotura, 2024. "Urban Heat Islands and Inequalities: Evidence from French Cities," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers 2024-21, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.
    7. Sarah Meier & Eric Strobl & Robert J. R. Elliott, 2025. "The impact of wildfire smoke exposure on excess mortality and later-life socioeconomic outcomes: the Great Fire of 1910," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 19(2), pages 279-342, May.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H00 - Public Economics - - General - - - General
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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