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Air quality and infant mortality in Mexico: evidence from variation in pollution concentrations caused by the usage of small-scale power plants

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  • Emilio Gutierrez

Abstract

This paper exploits the sharp change in air pollutants induced by the installation of small-scale power plants throughout Mexico to measure the causal relationship between air pollution and infant mortality, and whether this relationship varies by municipality’s socio-economic conditions. The estimated elasticity for changes in infant mortality due to respiratory diseases with respect to changes in air pollution concentration ranges from 0.58 to 0.84 (more than ten times higher than the Ordinary Least Squares estimate). Weaker evidence suggests that the effect is significantly lower in municipalities with a high presence of primary healthcare facilities and larger in municipalities with a high fraction of households with low education levels. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Emilio Gutierrez, 2015. "Air quality and infant mortality in Mexico: evidence from variation in pollution concentrations caused by the usage of small-scale power plants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(4), pages 1181-1207, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:28:y:2015:i:4:p:1181-1207
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-015-0539-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Resul Cesur & Erdal Tekin & Aydogan Ulker, 2017. "Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(600), pages 330-362, March.
    2. Eva Arceo & Rema Hanna & Paulina Oliva, 2016. "Does the Effect of Pollution on Infant Mortality Differ Between Developing and Developed Countries? Evidence from Mexico City," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 257-280, March.
    3. Andrew Foster & Emilio Gutierrez & Naresh Kumar, 2009. "Voluntary Compliance, Pollution Levels, and Infant Mortality in Mexico," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 191-197, May.
    4. Emilio Gutierrez & Kensuke Teshima, 2011. "Import Competition and Environmental Performance: Evidence from Mexican Plant-level and Satellite Imagery Data," Working Papers 1101, Centro de Investigacion Economica, ITAM.
    5. repec:emc:wpaper:dte-546 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Eva Olimpia Arceo Gómez & Rema Hanna & Paulina Oliva, 2012. "Does the Effect of Pollution on Infant Mortality Differ Between Developed and Developing Countries? Evidence from Mexico City," Working Papers DTE 546, CIDE, División de Economía.
    7. Janet Currie & Matthew Neidell, 2005. "Air Pollution and Infant Health: What Can We Learn from California's Recent Experience?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(3), pages 1003-1030.
    8. Seema Jayachandran, 2009. "Air Quality and Early-Life Mortality: Evidence from Indonesia’s Wildfires," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(4).
    9. Kenneth Y. Chay & Michael Greenstone, 2003. "Air Quality, Infant Mortality, and the Clean Air Act of 1970," Working Papers 0406, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
    10. Janet Currie & Reed Walker, 2011. "Traffic Congestion and Infant Health: Evidence from E-ZPass," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 65-90, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher Hansman & Jonas Hjort & Gianmarco León, 2019. "Interlinked firms and the consequences of piecemeal regulation," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 876-916.
    2. Wang, Linfeng & Shi, Tie & Chen, Hanyi, 2023. "Air pollution and infant mortality: Evidence from China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    3. Gutiérrez, Emilio & Teshima, Kensuke, 2018. "Abatement expenditures, technology choice, and environmental performance: Evidence from firm responses to import competition in Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 264-274.
    4. Han, Qing & Liu, Ying & Lu, Zilong, 2020. "Temporary driving restrictions, air pollution, and contemporaneous health: Evidence from China," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Sandra Aguilar-Gomez & Nathaly M. Rivera, 2024. "Air Pollution in the Global South: An Overview of Its Sources and Impacts," Working Papers wp561, University of Chile, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Air pollution; Health economics; Infant health; Infant mortality; H4; I1; O2; Q53;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • O2 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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