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Vog: Using Volcanic Eruptions to Estimate the Health Costs of Particulates

Author

Listed:
  • Timothy Halliday

    (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii)

  • John Lynham

    (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii)

  • Aureo de Paula

    (UCL, S~aoPauloSchoolofEconomics)

Abstract

The negative consequences of long-term exposure to particulate pollution are well established but many studies find no effect of short-term exposure on health outcomes. The high correlation of industrial pollutant emissions complicates the estimation of the impact of individual pollutants on health. In this study, we use emissions from Kilauea volcano, which are uncorrelated with other pollution sources, to estimate the impact of pollutants on local emergency room (ER) admissions and a precise measure of costs. A one standard deviation increase in particulates leads to a 23-36% increase in expenditures on ER visits for pulmonary outcomes, mostly among the very young. Even in an area where air quality is well within the safety guidelines of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this estimate is much larger than those in the existing literature on the short term effects of particulates. No strong effects for cardiovascular outcomes are found.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy Halliday & John Lynham & Aureo de Paula, 2016. "Vog: Using Volcanic Eruptions to Estimate the Health Costs of Particulates," Working Papers 201620, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hai:wpaper:201620
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Chris Sampson’s journal round-up for 7th May 2018
      by Chris Sampson in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2018-05-07 11:00:17

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    Cited by:

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    2. Giaccherini, Matilde & Kopinska, Joanna & Palma, Alessandro, 2021. "When particulate matter strikes cities: Social disparities and health costs of air pollution," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Wang, Chunchao & Lin, Qianqian & Qiu, Yun, 2022. "Productivity loss amid invisible pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    4. Johanna Choumert-Nkolo & Anaïs Lamour & Pascale Phélinas, 2021. "The Economics of Volcanoes," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 277-299, July.
    5. Kong, Dongmin & Liang, Junwei & Liu, Chenhao, 2022. "Invisible enemy: The health impact of ozone," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Timothy J. Halliday & Rachel Inafuku & Lester Lusher & Aureo de Paula, 2022. "VOG: Using Volcanic Eruptions to Estimate the Impact of Air Pollution on Student Learning Outcomes," Working Papers 202203, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    7. Julia Mink, 2024. "Putting a Price Tag on Air Pollution: The Social Healthcare Costs of Air Pollution in France," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 320, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    8. Diane Alexander & Hannes Schwandt, 2022. "The Impact of Car Pollution on Infant and Child Health: Evidence from Emissions Cheating," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(6), pages 2872-2910.
    9. Godzinski, Alexandre & Suarez Castillo, Milena, 2021. "Disentangling the effects of air pollutants with many instruments," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    10. Mariia Murasheva & Maria A. Cunha-e-Sa, 2022. "The impact of industrial pollution exposure on hospital admissions: Evidence from a cement plant in Russia," Nova SBE Working Paper Series wp652, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics.
    11. Wang, Chunchao & Lin, Qianqian & Qiu, Yun, 2020. "Productivity Loss amid Invisible Pollution," GLO Discussion Paper Series 722, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Wang, Yangjie & Chen, Xiaohong & Ren, Shenggang, 2019. "Clean energy adoption and maternal health: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    13. Mengna Luan & Zhigang Tao & Hongjie Yuan, 2023. "Alive but not well: The neglected cost of air pollution," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(11), pages 2535-2567, November.
    14. Bagilet, Vincent & Zabrocki-Hallak, Léo, 2022. "Why Some Acute Health Effects of Air Pollution Could Be Inflated," I4R Discussion Paper Series 11, The Institute for Replication (I4R).
    15. Qiu, Yun & Liu, Yunning & Shi, Wei & Zhou, Maigeng, 2024. "The impact of ozone pollution on mortality: Evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pollution; Health; Volcano; Particulates; SO2;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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