Working Paper: NBER ID: w18974
Authors: Emmanuelle Lavaine; Matthew J. Neidell
Abstract: This paper examines the effect of energy production on newborn health using a recent strike that affected oil refineries in France as a natural experiment. First, we show that the temporary reduction in refining lead to a significant reduction in sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations. Second, this shock significantly increased birth weight and gestational age of newborns, particularly for those exposed to the strike during the third trimester of pregnancy. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that a 1 unit decline in SO2 leads to a 196 million euro increase in lifetime earnings per birth cohort. This externality from oil refineries should be an important part of policy discussions surrounding the production of energy.
Keywords: energy production; health externalities; oil refinery strikes; sulfur dioxide; newborn health
JEL Codes: I12; Q4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Oil refinery strikes (L71) | Decrease in SO2 concentrations (Q53) |
| Decrease in SO2 concentrations (Q53) | Increase in birth weight (J13) |
| Decrease in SO2 concentrations (Q53) | Increase in gestational age (J13) |
| Oil refinery strikes (L71) | Increase in birth weight (J13) |
| Oil refinery strikes (L71) | Increase in gestational age (J13) |
| Decrease in SO2 concentrations (Q53) | Increase in lifetime earnings per birth cohort (J39) |