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Air pollution 2
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| Presentations | ||
Work from Home and Air Pollution Université de Montpellier, France This paper examines the impact of work from home (WFH) arrangements on PM2.5 exposure, leveraging Covid-19 lockdown restrictions as a natural experiment. Drawing on pollution data with a remarkably high level of resolution in France, it demonstrates for the first time that WFH can lead to a rise in exposure to particulate pollution. Our estimates imply an elasticity of PM2.5 concentration of 1.9 with respect to WFH. Notably, this undocumented trend is observed during both lockdown periods, in early spring and late fall, and remains robust across various identification strategies and model specifications. This environmental externality should be a crucial aspect of policy discussions related to work from home. Air Quality and Workplace Safety: Evidence from Dust Precipitation Events European University Institute, Germany Natural air pollution from dust precipitation events is an almost global phenomenon, which is becoming increasingly important due to climate change. Our paper presents the first causal estimates on the impacts of particulate matter concentrations on work- place safety originating from dust precipitation events. We use administrative data on the universe of work accidents reported in Spain. The counts of accidents on the municipality-by-date level are matched to information about the intensity of local dust precipitation episodes and weather conditions. Our estimates imply that an average day of dust precipitation induces a 0.4 percent increase in weekly work accidents. Dust precipitation’s impact is mostly pervasive across economic activity, income, workers demographics, and severity of the accident. Dirty Politics: Impact of Criminally Accused Politicians on Air Pollution in India University of Heidelberg, Germany This study investigates the causal impact of electing leaders with criminal records on PM2.5 air pollution in India. Utilizing data from 2008-2018 across Indian constituencies and employing a Regression Discontinuity Design, the paper reveals significant correlations between such political choices and air pollution levels. These findings offer new insights into the intersection of political dynamics and environmental policy, with substantial implications for environmental governance and public health. The Cost of Air Pollution for Workers and Firms 1Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK; 2Paris School of Economics - CNRS, France Poor air quality negatively affects workers' health and cognitive functions, but we know little about the countrywide consequences for firms. In this paper, we estimate the causal effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure on firms' monthly sales using unique employer-employee data and granular measures of air pollution in France from 2009 to 2015. We exploit variation in air pollution induced by changes in monthly wind directions at the postcode level. We find that a 10\% increase in monthly PM2.5 exposure decreases sales in the following month by 0.28 percent in manufacturing, by 0.25 percent in construction, by 0.31 percent in business-to-business trade, by 0.68 percent in food retail and supermarkets, and by 0.92 percent in other consumer retail and services. Sales losses are an order of magnitude larger than what we would expect if workers' absenteeism was the only factor affecting firms' performance. This suggests a potentially large effect of pollution on the productivity of non-absent workers and on the local demand. | ||