This project links administrative census microdata to spatially continuous measures of particulate pollution (PM2.5) to first document and then decompose the key drivers of convergence in black-white pollution exposure differences. We use quantile regression to show that a significant portion of the convergence in Black-White exposure is attributable to differential impacts of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in Black and White communities. Areas with larger Black populations saw greater CAA-related declines in PM2.5. We show that the CAA can account for over 60 percent of the racial convergence in PM2.5 pollution exposure in the United States since 2000. (JEL J15, K32, Q51, Q53, Q58)

Specially collected data on adults in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics are used to provide evidence on the longer-term effects of Head Start, an early intervention program for poor preschool-age children. Whites who attended Head Start are, relative to their siblings who did not, significantly more likely to complete high school, attend college, and possibly have higher earnings in their early twenties. African-Americans who participated in Head Start are less likely to have been booked or charged with a crime. There is some evidence of positive spillovers from older Head Start children to their younger siblings.

We examine the impact of firearm violence on newborn health in the U.S. using two approaches. First, we analyze the “beltway sniper” attacks in 2002, leveraging both temporal and spatial variation to compare birth outcomes of exposed children to those unexposed. Second, we investigate in-utero exposure to mass shootings using national data. We find that exposure to these incidents during pregnancy increases the likelihood of very low-birthweight and very premature birth. These events carry a significant economic burden, with the beltway sniper attacks costing at least $155 million and mass shootings resulting in annual costs exceeding $75 million.

Orley Ashenfelter, Janet Currie, Henry S. Farber, Matthew Spiegel, An Experimental Comparison of Dispute Rates in Alternative Arbitration Systems, Econometrica, Vol. 60, No. 6 (Nov., 1992), pp. 1407-1433

Most Americans are now in some form of managed care plan that restricts access to services in order to reduce costs. It is difficult to determine whether these restrictions affect health because individuals and firms self-select into managed care. We investigate the effect of managed care using a California law that required some pregnant women on Medicaid to enter managed care. We use a unique longitudinal database of California births in which we observe changes in the regime faced by individual mothers between births. We find that Medicaid managed care reduced the quality of prenatal care and increased low birth weight, prematurity, and neonatal death.

We are the first to examine the effect of Superfund cleanups on infant health rather than focusing on proximity to a site. We study singleton births to mothers residing within 5km of a Superfund site between 1989-2003 in five large states. Our "difference in differences" approach compares birth outcomes before and after a site clean-up for mothers who live within 2,000 meters of the site and those who live between 2,000- 5,000 meters of a site. We find that proximity to a Superfund site before cleanup is associated with a 20 to 25% increase in the risk of congenital anomalies.

Regulatory oversight of toxic emissions from industrial plants and understanding about these emissions' impacts are in their infancy. Applying a research design based on the openings and closings of 1,600 industrial plants to rich data on housing markets and infant health, we find that: toxic air emissions affect air quality only within 1 mile of the plant; plant openings lead to 11 percent declines in housing values within 0.5 mile or a loss of about $4.25 million for these households; and a plant's operation is associated with a roughly 3 percent increase in the probability of low birthweight within 1 mile.

We examine the effect of air pollution on school absences using administrative data for elementary and middle school children in 39 of the largest school districts in Texas merged with air quality information maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency. We address potentially confounding factors with a difference-in-difference-in-differences strategy that controls for persistent characteristics of schools, years, and attendance periods. Of the pollutants considered, we find that high carbon monoxide (CO) levels, even when below federal air quality standards, significantly increase absences. Our results suggest that the substantial decline in CO levels over the past two decades has yielded economically significant health benefits.

Can Mentoring Help Female Assistant Professors? Interim Results from a Randomized Trial by Francine D. Blau, Janet M. Currie, Rachel T. A. Croson and Donna K. Ginther. Published in volume 100, issue 2, pages 348-52 of American Economic Review, May 2010