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Why Are Pollution Damages Lower in Developed Countries? Insights from High-Income, High-Particulate Matter Hong Kong

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  • Jonathan Colmer
  • Dajun Lin
  • Siying Liu
  • Jay Shimshack

Abstract

Conventional wisdom suggests that marginal damages from particulate matter pollution are high in less-developed countries because they are highly polluted. Using administrative data on the universe of births and deaths, we explore birthweight and mortality effects of gestational particulate matter exposure in high-pollution yet high-income Hong Kong. The marginal effects of particulates on birthweight are large but we fail to detect an effect on neonatal mortality. We interpret our stark mortality results in a comparative analysis of pollution-mortality relationships across studies. We provide early evidence that marginal mortality damages from pollution are high in less-developed countries because they are less developed, not because they are more polluted.

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  • Jonathan Colmer & Dajun Lin & Siying Liu & Jay Shimshack, 2021. "Why Are Pollution Damages Lower in Developed Countries? Insights from High-Income, High-Particulate Matter Hong Kong," CESifo Working Paper Series 9206, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9206
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    Cited by:

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    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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