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Lockdowns Save People from Air Pollution: Evidence from Daily Global Tropospheric NO 2 Satellite Data

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  • Sunbin Yoo

    (Urban Institute, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan)

  • Shunsuke Managi

    (Urban Institute, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan)

Abstract

Motivated by the global fear of the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, we investigated whether lockdowns save people from air pollution, notably from Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ). Using daily satellite data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), we first found that the global NO 2 tropospheric vertical column density (TVCD) decreased by 16.5% after the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) outbreak. Then, we calculated the global health benefits, as the monetized value of life, using the value of a statistical life (VSL). The total global health benefits were approximately 8.73 trillion USD, accounting for 10% of the global GDP; such benefits would be the largest in China, followed by the United States, Japan and Germany. Our results suggest that lockdowns may bring benefits to countries that policy interventions cannot easily bring, thus highlighting the importance of social distancing.

Suggested Citation

  • Sunbin Yoo & Shunsuke Managi, 2021. "Lockdowns Save People from Air Pollution: Evidence from Daily Global Tropospheric NO 2 Satellite Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-12, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:11777-:d:664121
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yoo, Sunbin & Koh, Kyung Woong & Yoshida, Yoshikuni, 2020. "Are consumers abandoning diesel automobiles because of contrasting diesel policies? Evidence from the Korean automobile market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Adam Sheridan & Asger Lau Andersen & Emil Toft Hansen & Niels Johannesen, 2020. "Social distancing laws cause only small losses of economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scandinavia," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(34), pages 20468-20473, August.
    3. Antoine Mandel & Vipin Veetil, 2020. "The Economic Cost of COVID Lockdowns: An Out-of-Equilibrium Analysis," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 431-451, October.
    4. Farboodi, Maryam & Jarosch, Gregor & Shimer, Robert, 2021. "Internal and external effects of social distancing in a pandemic," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Kevin M. Murphy & Robert H. Topel, 2006. "The Value of Health and Longevity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(5), pages 871-904, October.
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