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When Particulate Matter Strikes Cities: Social Disparities and Health Costs of Air Pollution

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Abstract

We investigate the heterogeneous effects of daily particular matter (PM) pollution on Italian hospitalizations and their costs. We exploit public transportation strikes as plausibly-exogenous shocks in PM. We find that young individuals, an arguably healthy age group, exhibit economically meaningful responses to changes in air pollution. A higher prevalence of pollution-induced hospitalizations also exists among the elderly, low educated individuals and migrants coming from low income countries. Our results imply a large role for differential avoidance behavior driving heterogeneous marginal effects. PM exposure also affects the intensive margin since pollution-induced hospitalizations are not only more frequent but they are characterized by a higher complexity, generating additional costs.

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  • Matilde Giaccherini & Joanna Kopinska & Alessandro Palma, 2019. "When Particulate Matter Strikes Cities: Social Disparities and Health Costs of Air Pollution," CEIS Research Paper 467, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 04 Aug 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:467
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    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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