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Air pollution and internal migration: evidence from an Iranian household survey

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammad Reza Farzanegan

    (School of Business and Economics, Philipps-Universität Marburg)

  • Hassan F. Gholipour

    (Western Sydney University)

  • Mostafa Javadian

    (University of Arizona)

Abstract

Air pollution has become an important national issue in Iran in recent years. Several studies in Iran have shown that air pollution harmfully impacts the physical and mental health of citizens, reducing labor productivity and student academic performance. One aspect of air pollution that is yet to be examined is if it explains migration behavior across the provinces of Iran. Between 2011 and 2016, approximately 4.3 million Iranians (about 5% of the population) left their habitual residences and moved to new locations (mostly within the borders of Iran). The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of air pollution (measured using satellite data of aerosol optical depth) on net outmigration. We used data from the 2011 and 2016 National Population and Housing Censuses for 31 provinces in Iran and applied panel fixed effects and instrumental variable procedures to analyze the data. Our results show that air pollution has a positive and significant effect on net outmigration. We also found that higher levels of economic activities discourage outmigration.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Hassan F. Gholipour & Mostafa Javadian, 2023. "Air pollution and internal migration: evidence from an Iranian household survey," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(1), pages 223-247, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:64:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s00181-022-02253-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-022-02253-1
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    2. Farzanegan Mohammad Reza & Batmanghelidj Esfandyar, 2023. "Understanding Economic Sanctions on Iran: A Survey," The Economists' Voice, De Gruyter, vol. 20(2), pages 197-226, December.
    3. Caballero, María Victoria & Martínez-García, María Pilar & Morales, José R., 2024. "Pollution-induced migration and environmental policy in an economic geography model," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Quan-Hoang Vuong & Tam-Tri Le & Quy Van Khuc & Quang-Loc Nguyen & Minh-Hoang Nguyen, 2022. "Escaping from Air Pollution: Exploring the Psychological Mechanism behind the Emergence of Internal Migration Intention among Urban Residents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-22, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Air pollution; Migration; Economic activities; Iran;
    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
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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