Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T07:46:48.347Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Transboundary air pollution and health: evidence from East Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2021

Jaehyun Jung ,
Anna Choi  and
Semee Yoon Open the ORCID record for Semee Yoon [Opens in a new window]
Jaehyun Jung
Affiliation:
Korea Institute of Public Finance, Sejong-si, Republic of Korea
Anna Choi
Affiliation:
Department of Public Administration, Sejong University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Semee Yoon*
Affiliation:
Underwood International College, Yonsei University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
*
*Corresponding author. [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Outdoor air pollution continues to be a challenging health issue, even as countries experience economic growth. By exploiting a unique transboundary setting in East Asia, we study the impact of an increase in particulate matter (PM) concentrations on fetal deaths. Due to the westerlies in the mid-latitudes, residents in South Korea at times experience intermittent exposure to high levels of air pollution. Using such atmospheric setting, we estimate a reduced-form impact of high PM events on fetal deaths, which captures in utero exposure to pollution. Controlling for local weather and pollution trends, regression results indicate that high PM events in Beijing lead to a significant increase in daily fetal mortality rates in Korea, by approximately 7.4 per cent. This research finding provides lower-bound estimates of not only negative spillovers manifested in fetal health but also the impact of pollution on the health of the Chinese population and calls for a need to tackle transboundary air pollution via international cooperation.

Keywords

air pollutionChinaEast Asiaexternalityfetal deathKoreatransboundary

JEL classification

H23: Externalities • Redistributive Effects • Environmental Taxes and Subsidies I12: Health Behavior Q51: Valuation of Environmental Effects J13: Fertility • Family Planning • Child Care • Children • Youth Q53: Air Pollution • Water Pollution • Noise • Hazardous Waste • Solid Waste • Recycling
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 120 - 144
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

U.S. EPA (2009) Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (Final Report) (Tech. Rep. EPA/600/R-08/139F). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Google Scholar
Almond, D, Chen, Y, Greenstone, M and Li, H (2009 a) Winter heating or clean air? Unintended impacts of China's Huai River policy. American Economic Review 99, 184–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almond, D, Edlund, L and Palme, M (2009 b) Chernobyl's subclinical legacy: prenatal exposure to radioactive fallout and school outcomes in Sweden. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 124, 1729–1772.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arceo, E, Hanna, R and Oliva, P (2016) Does the effect of pollution on infant mortality differ between developing and developed countries? Evidence from Mexico city. The Economic Journal 126, 257–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auffhammer, M and Kellogg, R (2011) Clearing the air? The effects of gasoline content regulation on air quality. American Economic Review 101, 2687–2722.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banzhaf, HS and Walsh, RP (2008) Do people vote with their feet? An empirical test of tiebout's mechanism. American Economic Review 98, 843–863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bekkar, B, Pacheco, S, Basu, R and DeNicola, N (2020) Association of air pollution and heat exposure with preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth in the US: a systematic review. JAMA Network Open 3, e208243–e208243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carmichael, GR, Zhang, Y, Chen, L-L, Hong, M-S and Ueda, H (1996) Seasonal variation of aerosol composition at Cheju Island, Korea. Atmospheric Environment 30, 2407–2416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chay, KY and Greenstone, M (2003) The impact of air pollution on infant mortality: evidence from geographic variation in pollution shocks induced by a recession. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 118, 1121–1167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chay, KY and Greenstone, M (2005) Does air quality matter? Evidence from the housing market. Journal of Political Economy 113, 376–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Y, Jin, GZ, Kumar, N and Shi, G (2012) Gaming in air pollution data? Lessons from China. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 13(3), 1–43.Google Scholar
Chen, Y, Ebenstein, A, Greenstone, M and Li, H (2013) Evidence on the impact of sustained exposure to air pollution on life expectancy from China's Huai River policy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, 12936–12941.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheung, CW, He, G and Pan, Y (2020) Mitigating the air pollution effect? The remarkable decline in the pollution-mortality relationship in Hong Kong. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 101, 102316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clemens, T, Turner, S and Dibben, C (2017) Maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and fetal growth in North-East Scotland: a population-based study using routine ultrasound scans. Environment International 107, 216–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Currie, J and Neidell, M (2005) Air pollution and infant health: what can we learn from California's recent experience?. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 120, 1003–1030.Google Scholar
Currie, J and Walker, R (2011) Traffic congestion and infant health: evidence from E-ZPass. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3, 65–90.Google Scholar
Currie, J, Neidell, M and Schmieder, JF (2009) Air pollution and infant health: lessons from New Jersey. Journal of Health Economics 28, 688–703.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Currie, J, Davis, L, Greenstone, M and Walker, R (2015) Environmental health risks and housing values: evidence from 1,600 toxic plant openings and closings, American Economic Review, 105, 678–709.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeFranco, E, Hall, E, Hossain, M, Chen, A, Haynes, EN, Jones, D, Ren, S, Lu, L and Muglia, L (2015) Air pollution and stillbirth risk: exposure to airborne particulate matter during pregnancy is associated with fetal death. PLOS ONE, 10, e0120594.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deryugina, T, Heutel, G, Miller, NH, Molitor, D and Reif, J (2019) The mortality and medical costs of air pollution: evidence from changes in wind direction. American Economic Review, 109, 4178–4219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deschenes, O and Moretti, E (2009) Extreme weather events, mortality, and migration. Review of Economics and Statistics 91, 659–681.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deschenes, O, Greenstone, M and Guryan, J (2009) Climate change and birth weight. American Economic Review, 99, 211–217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duvivier, C and Xiong, H (2013) Transboundary pollution in China: a study of polluting firms’ location choices in Hebei province. Environment and Development Economics 18, 459–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebenstein, A, Fan, M, Greenstone, M, He, G and Zhou, M (2017) New evidence on the impact of sustained exposure to air pollution on life expectancy from China's Huai River policy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114, 10384–10389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Faiz, AS, Rhoads, GG, Demissie, K, Lin, Y, Kruse, L and Rich, DQ (2013) Does ambient air pollution trigger stillbirth?. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) 24, 538–544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gehrsitz, M (2017) The effect of low emission zones on air pollution and infant health. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 83, 121–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghanem, D and Zhang, J (2014) ‘Effortless perfection:’ do Chinese cities manipulate air pollution data?. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 68, 203–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graff Zivin, J and Neidell, M (2013) Environment, health, and human capital. Journal of Economic Literature 51, 689–730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, R, Sarovar, V, Malig, B and Basu, R (2015) Association of stillbirth with ambient air pollution in a California cohort study. American Journal of Epidemiology 181, 874–882.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grippo, A, Zhang, J, Chu, L, Guo, Y, Qiao, L, Myneni, AA and Mu, L (2018) Air pollution exposure during pregnancy and spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. Reviews on Environmental Health 33, 247–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ha, S, Hu, H, Roussos-Ross, D, Haidong, K, Roth, J and Xu, X (2014) The effects of air pollution on adverse birth outcomes. Environmental Research 134, 198–204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hackley, B, Feinstein, A and Dixon, J (2007) Air pollution: impact on maternal and perinatal health. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health 52, 435–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
He, C, Wei, YD and Xie, X (2008) Globalization, institutional change, and industrial location: economic transition and industrial concentration in China. Regional Studies 42, 923–945.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
He, G, Fan, M and Zhou, M (2016) The effect of air pollution on mortality in China: evidence from the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 79, 18–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hwang, B-F, Lee, YL and Jaakkola, JJ (2011) Air pollution and stillbirth: a population-based case–control study in Taiwan. Environmental Health Perspectives 119, 1345–1349.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Isen, A, Rossin-Slater, M and Walker, WR (2017) Every breath you take-every dollar you'll make: the long-term consequences of the clean air act of 1970. Journal of Political Economy 125, 848–902.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Itahashi, S, Uno, I, Osada, K, Kamiguchi, Y, Yamamoto, S, Tamura, K, Wang, Z, Kurosaki, Y and Kanaya, Y (2017) Nitrate transboundary heavy pollution over East Asia in winter. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 17, 3823–3843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ito, K and Zhang, S (2016) Willingness to Pay for Clean Air: Evidence from Air Purifier Markets in China, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, No. 22367.Google Scholar
Ito, K, Thurston, GD and Silverman, RA (2007) Characterization of pm 2.5, gaseous pollutants, and meteorological interactions in the context of time-series health effects models. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology 17, S45–S60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jayachandran, S (2009) Air quality and early-life mortality: evidence from Indonesia's wildfires. Journal of Human Resources 44, 916–954.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jia, R and Ku, H (2019) Is China's pollution the culprit for the choking of South Korea? Evidence from the Asian dust. The Economic Journal 129, 3154–3188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jia, M, Zhao, T, Cheng, X, Gong, S, Zhang, X, Tang, L, Liu, D, Wu, X, Wang, L and Chen, Y (2017) Inverse relations of PM2.5 and O3 in air compound pollution between cold and hot seasons over an urban area of east China. Atmosphere 8, 59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, CT, Hallock, JL, Bienstock, JL, Fox, HE, Wallach, EE and University, JH (eds) (2015) The Johns Hopkins Manual of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 5th Edn. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.Google Scholar
Joint Research Project for Long-range Transboundary Air Pollutants in Northeast Asia (2019) Summary report of the 4th stage (2013–2017) LTP project, Research Report to National Institute of Environmental Research.Google Scholar
Kim, MJ (2019) The effects of transboundary air pollution from China on ambient air quality in South Korea. Heliyon 5, e02953.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, H-S, Kim, D-S, Kim, H and Yi, S-M (2012) Relationship between mortality and fine particles during Asian dust, smog–Asian dust, and smog days in Korea. International Journal of Environmental Health Research 22, 518–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knittel, CR, Miller, DL and Sanders, NJ (2016) Caution, drivers! Children present: traffic, pollution, and infant health. Review of Economics and Statistics 98, 350–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korea Ministry of Environment (2013) Brochure on Particular Matter in South Korea, Available at https://bit.ly/2PpCWOA.Google Scholar
Korea National Law Information Center (2020) Clean Air Conservation Act, Available at https://bit.ly/3clkj7t.Google Scholar
KORUS-AQ (2017) KORUS-AQ Rapid Science Synthesis Report: International cooperative air quality field study in Korea, Available at https://espo.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/KORUS-AQ-ENG.pdf.Google Scholar
Lavaine, E and Neidell, M (2017) Energy production and health externalities: evidence from oil refinery strikes in France. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 4, 447–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, S and Lee, K (2017) Seasonal differences in determinants of time location patterns in an urban population: a large population-based study in Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, 672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, S, Ho, C-H and Choi, Y-S (2011) High-PM10 concentration episodes in Seoul, Korea: background sources and related meteorological conditions. Atmospheric Environment 45, 7240–7247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, S, Koo, J, Hong, J, Choi, M, Kim, J, Lim, H, Holben, B, Eck, T, Ahn, J, Park, J and Kim, S (2017) Estimating the effects of the transboundary transport and local emissions of atmospheric pollutants in South Korea during KORUS-AQ campaign, AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Abstract #A13F-2136.Google Scholar
Li, T, Guo, Y, Liu, Y, Wang, J, Wang, Q, Sun, Z, He, MZ and Shi, X (2019) Estimating mortality burden attributable to short-term PM2. 5 exposure: a national observational study in China. Environment International 125, 245–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lin, J, Pan, D, Davis, SJ, Zhang, Q, He, K, Wang, C, Streets, DG, Wuebbles, DJ and Guan, D (2014) China's international trade and air pollution in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, 1736–1741.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, N, Miyashita, L, Mcphail, G, Thangaratinam, S and Grigg, J (2018) Do inhaled carbonaceous particles translocate from the lung to the placenta?, European Respiratory Society International Congress Abstracts, Abstract #PA360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lleras-Muney, A (2010) The needs of the army: using compulsory relocation in the military to estimate the effect of air pollutants on children's health. Journal of Human Resources 45, 549–590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDorman, MF and Kirmeyer, S (2009) Fetal and perinatal mortality, United States, 2005, National Vital Statistics Reports, 57.Google Scholar
Moretti, E and Neidell, M (2011) Pollution, health, and avoidance behavior evidence from the ports of Los Angeles. Journal of Human Resources 46, 154–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mori, I, Nishikawa, M, Tanimura, T and Quan, H (2003) Change in size distribution and chemical composition of kosa (asian dust) aerosol during long-range transport. Atmospheric Environment 37, 4253–4263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Research Council (ed.) (2010) Global sources of local pollution: an assessment of long-range transport of key air pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: National Acad. Press.Google Scholar
Nishikawa, M, Kanamori, S, Kanamori, N and Mizoguchi, T (1991) Kosa aerosol as eolian carrier of anthropogenic material, Science of the Total Environment, 107, 13–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pereira, LA, Loomis, D, Conceicao, GM, Braga, AL, Arcas, RM, Kishi, HS, Singer, JM, Boehm, GM and Saldiva, PH (1998) Association between air pollution and intrauterine mortality in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Environmental Health Perspectives 106, 325–329.Google ScholarPubMed
Reddy, UM, Goldenberg, R, Silver, R, Smith, GCS, Pauli, RM, Wapner, RJ, Gardosi, J, Pinar, H, Grafe, M, Kupferminc, M, Hulthén Varli, I, Erwich, JJHM, Fretts, RC and Willinger, M (2009) Stillbirth classification–developing an international consensus for research: executive summary of a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Workshop, Obstetrics & Gynecology, 114, 901–914.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ren, C and Tong, S (2006) Temperature modifies the health effects of particulate matter in Brisbane, Australia. International Journal of Biometeorology 51, 87–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ritz, B, Wilhelm, M, Hoggatt, KJ and Ghosh, JKC (2007) Ambient air pollution and preterm birth in the environment and pregnancy outcomes study at the University of California, Los Angeles. American Journal of Epidemiology 166, 1045–1052.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rohde, RA and Muller, RA (2015) Air pollution in China: mapping of concentrations and sources. PLOS ONE 10, e0135749.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanders, NJ and Stoecker, C (2015) Where have all the young men gone? Using sex ratios to measure fetal death rates. Journal of Health Economics 41, 30–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlenker, W and Walker, WR (2016) Airports, air pollution, and contemporaneous health. The Review of Economic Studies 83, 768–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsigaridis, K, Krol, M, Dentener, F, Balkanski, Y, Lathiere, J, Metzger, S, Hauglustaine, D and Kanakidou, M (2006) Change in global aerosol composition since preindustrial times. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 6, 5143–5162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wen, M (2004) Relocation and agglomeration of Chinese industry. Journal of Development Economics 73, 329–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woods, R (2008) Long-term trends in fetal mortality: implications for developing countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 86, 460–466.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xiao, Q, Ma, Z, Li, S and Liu, Y (2015) The impact of winter heating on air pollution in China. PLOS ONE 10, e0117311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xing, D, Xu, C, Liao, X, Xing, T, Cheng, S, Hu, M and Wang, J (2019) Spatial association between outdoor air pollution and lung cancer incidence in China. BMC Public Health 19, 1377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, S, Tan, Y, Mei, H, Wang, F, Li, N, Zhao, J, Zhang, Y, Qian, Z, Chang, JJ, Syberg, KM, Peng, A, Mei, H, Zhang, D, Zhang, Y, Xu, S, Li, Y, Zheng, T and Zhang, B (2018) Ambient air pollution the risk of stillbirth: a prospective birth cohort study in Wuhan, China. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 221, 502–509.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yoshino, A, Takami, A, Sato, K, Shimizu, A, Kaneyasu, N, Hatakeyama, S, Hara, K and Hayashi, M (2016) Influence of trans-boundary air pollution on the urban atmosphere in Fukuoka, Japan. Atmosphere 7, 51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeng, S and Zhang, Y (2017) The effect of meteorological elements on continuing heavy air Pollution: a case study in the Chengdu Area during the 2014 spring festival. Atmosphere 8, 71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Z, Hong, Y and Liu, N (2017) Association of ambient particulate matter 2.5 with intensive care unit admission due to pneumonia: a distributed lag non-linear model. Scientific Reports 7, 1–7.Google ScholarPubMed
Zhao, B, Wang, S, Ding, D, Wu, W, Chang, X, Wang, J, Xing, J, Jang, C, Fu, JS, Zhu, Y, Zheng, M and Wang, S (2019) Nonlinear relationships between air pollutant emissions and PM2. 5-related health impacts in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Science of the Total Environment 661, 375–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zimmerman, JI (2012) How American companies decide where to put their Chinese factories, Business Insider Australia.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Jung et al. supplementary material

Jung et al. supplementary material

Download Jung et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 23 MB