Working Paper: NBER ID: w15413
Authors: Janet Currie; Reed Walker
Abstract: We exploit the introduction of electronic toll collection, (E-ZPass), which greatly reduced both traffic congestion and vehicle emissions near highway toll plazas. We show that the introduction of E-ZPass reduced prematurity and low birth weight among mothers within 2km of a toll plaza by 10.8% and 11.8% respectively relative to mothers 2-10km from a toll plaza. There were no immediate changes in the characteristics of mothers or in housing prices near toll plazas that could explain these changes. The results are robust to many changes in specification and suggest that traffic congestion contributes significantly to poor health among infants.
Keywords: Traffic Congestion; Infant Health; EZPass; Prematurity; Low Birth Weight
JEL Codes: I12; Q51; Q53
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| traffic congestion (L91) | poor health outcomes among infants (I14) |
| EZPass implementation (H55) | reduction in prematurity (J19) |
| EZPass implementation (H55) | reduction in low birth weight (I14) |