← Search

Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 120 No. 3 2005

Air Pollution and Infant Health: What Can We Learn from California's Recent Experience?

Janet Currie1,2; Matthew Neidell3

1 National Bureau of Economic Research · 2 University of California, Los Angeles · 3 Columbia University

Abstract

We examine the impact of air pollution on infant death in California over the 1990s. Our work offers several innovations: first, most previous studies examine populations subject to far greater levels of pollution. Second, many studies examine a single pollutant in isolation. We examine three “criteria” pollutants in a common framework. Third, we use rich individual-level data and pollution measured at the weekly level. Our most novel finding is a significant effect of CO on infant mortality: we find that reductions in carbon monoxide over the 1990s saved approximately 1000 infant lives in California.

DOI
10.1093/qje/120.3.1003
Volume
120
Issue
3
Pages
1003-1030
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

Cite