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The effects of increased pollution on COVID-19 cases and deaths

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  • Persico, Claudia L.
  • Johnson, Kathryn R.

Abstract

The SARS-COV-2 virus, also known as the coronavirus, has spread around the world. A growing literature suggests that exposure to pollution can cause respiratory illness and increase deaths among the elderly. However, little is known about whether increases in pollution could cause additional or more severe infections from COVID-19, which typically manifests as a respiratory infection. During the pandemic, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled back enforcement of environmental regulation, causing an increase in pollution in counties with more TRI sites. We use the variation in pollution and a difference in differences design to estimate the effects of increased pollution on county-level COVID-19 deaths and cases. We find that counties with more Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) sites saw a 11.8 percent increase in pollution on average following the EPA’s rollback of enforcement, compared to counties with fewer TRI sites. We also find that these policy-induced increases in pollution are associated with a 53 percent increase in cases and a 10.6 percent increase in deaths from COVID-19.

Suggested Citation

  • Persico, Claudia L. & Johnson, Kathryn R., 2021. "The effects of increased pollution on COVID-19 cases and deaths," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:107:y:2021:i:c:s0095069621000140
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102431
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    2. Bakkensen, Laura A. & Ma, Lala & Muehlenbachs, Lucija & Benitez, Lina, 2024. "Cumulative impacts in environmental justice: Insights from economics and policy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    3. Germain Gauthier, 2021. "On the Use of Two-Way Fixed Effects Models for Policy Evaluation During Pandemics," Papers 2106.10949, arXiv.org.
    4. Sisi Zhang & Xiaoyu Ma & Qi Cui & Jiamin Liu, 2024. "Digitalization and urban resilience: how does the allocation of digital factors affect urban resilience under energy constraints in China?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 23613-23641, September.
    5. Sandro Provenzano & Sefi Roth & Lutz Sager, 2024. "Air Pollution and Respiratory Infectious Diseases," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(5), pages 1127-1139, May.
    6. Albani, Viviana & Welsh, Claire E. & Brown, Heather & Matthews, Fiona E. & Bambra, Clare, 2022. "Explaining the deprivation gap in COVID-19 mortality rates: A decomposition analysis of geographical inequalities in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    7. Austin, Wes & Carattini, Stefano & Gomez-Mahecha, John & Pesko, Michael F., 2023. "The effects of contemporaneous air pollution on COVID-19 morbidity and mortality," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    8. Zhuo, Chengfeng & Xie, Yuping & Mao, Yanhua & Chen, Pengqin & Li, Yiqiao, 2022. "Can cross-regional environmental protection promote urban green development: Zero-sum game or win-win choice?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    9. Raj Bridgelall, 2022. "Reducing Risks by Transporting Dangerous Cargo in Drones," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.
    10. Ferro, Simone & Palma, Alessandro & Serra, Chiara & Stafoggia, Massimo, 2024. "Beyond birth: The medium-term health impact of prenatal exposure to air pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    11. Zhang, Ruohao & Li, Huan & Khanna, Neha, 2021. "Environmental justice and the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from New York State," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    12. Liu, Ziheng & Chen, Xi & Lu, Qinan, 2023. "Blowin' in the Wind of an Invisible Killer: Long-Term Exposure to Ozone and Respiratory Mortality in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 15981, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Pamela Campa & Lucija Muehlenbachs, 2024. "Addressing Environmental Justice through In-Kind Court Settlements," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 415-446, February.
    14. Deng, Nana & Wang, Bo & Qiu, Yueming & Liu, Jie & Shi, Han & Zhang, Bin & Wang, Zhaohua, 2022. "The discrepancies in the impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns on electricity consumption in China: Is the short-term pain worth it?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    15. Linh Pham & Travis Roach, 2024. "Spillover benefits of carbon dioxide cap and trade: Evidence from the Toxics Release Inventory," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(1), pages 449-467, January.
    16. Xinming Du, 2023. "Symptom or Culprit? Social Media, Air Pollution, and Violence," CESifo Working Paper Series 10296, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pollution; Regulation; Health; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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