Working Paper: NBER ID: w14352
Authors: Janet Currie; Johannes F. Schmieder
Abstract: Every year, millions of pounds of toxic chemicals thought to be linked to developmental problems in fetuses and young children are released into the air. In this paper we estimate the effect of these releases on the health of newborns. Using data from the Toxic Release Inventory Program and Vital Statistics Natality and Mortality files, we find significant negative effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants on gestation and birth weight. We also find that several developmental chemicals increase the probability of infant death. The effect is quite sizeable: the reported reductions in cadmium, toluene, and epichlorohydrin releases during the 90s could account for about 3.9 percent of the overall decrease in infant mortality. Our results are robust to several specification checks, such as comparing developmental to non-developmental chemicals, and fugitive air releases to stack air releases.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I18; Q53
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Prenatal exposure to developmental toxicants (I12) | Reduction in gestation (J19) |
| Prenatal exposure to developmental toxicants (I12) | Reduction in birth weight (J13) |
| Prenatal exposure to toluene (J13) | Increase in infant death probability (J17) |
| Reductions in releases of cadmium, toluene, and epichlorohydrin (L65) | Decrease in infant mortality (J13) |