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On the Short-Term Impact of Pollution: The Effect of PM 2.5 on Emergency Room Visits

Author

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  • Dardati, Evangelina

    (Centro de Estudios Públicos)

  • de Elejalde, Ramiro

    (Universidad Alberto Hurtado)

  • Giolito, Eugenio

    (Universidad del CEMA)

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effect of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) exposure on Emergency Room (ER) visits in Chile. Our identification strategy exploits daily PM 2.5 variation within a hospital-month-year combination. Unlike previous papers, our data allow us to study the impact of high levels of pollution while controlling for avoidance behavior. We find that a one standard deviation increase in PM 2.5 increases respiratory ER visits by 1.4 percent. This effect is positive for all age groups but is stronger for children (less than five years old) and the elderly (more than 65 years old). Moreover, we find that the effects are stronger in geographical areas in which the share of emissions from residential wood burning is more than 75 percent. Finally, our results are robust to instrumenting pollution using wind direction and speed and to controlling for other pollutants.

Suggested Citation

  • Dardati, Evangelina & de Elejalde, Ramiro & Giolito, Eugenio, 2021. "On the Short-Term Impact of Pollution: The Effect of PM 2.5 on Emergency Room Visits," IZA Discussion Papers 14599, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14599
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    Cited by:

    1. Rivera, Nathaly M. & Ruiz-Tagle, J. Cristobal & Spiller, Elisheba, 2024. "The health benefits of solar power generation: Evidence from Chile," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    air pollution; PM 2.5; emergency room visits;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • 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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