Working Paper: NBER ID: w20662
Authors: Prashant Bharadwaj; Matthew Gibson; Joshua Graff Zivin; Christopher A. Neilson
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of fetal exposure to air pollution on 4th grade test scores in Santiago, Chile. We rely on comparisons across siblings which address concerns about locational sorting and all other time-invariant family characteristics that can lead to endogenous exposure to poor environmental quality. We also exploit data on air quality alerts to help address concerns related to short-run time-varying avoidance behavior, which has been shown to be important in a number of other contexts. We find a strong negative effect from fetal exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) on math and language skills measured in 4th grade. These effects are economically significant and our back of the envelope calculations suggest that the 50% reduction in CO in Santiago between 1990 and 2005 increased lifetime earnings by approximately 100 million USD per birth cohort.
Keywords: Fetal Pollution Exposure; Human Capital Formation; Air Pollution; Educational Outcomes
JEL Codes: I10; Q53
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| reduction in CO levels in Santiago between 1990 and 2005 (F64) | increase in lifetime earnings by approximately $100 million per birth cohort (J17) |
| fetal exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) (J13) | 4th grade math test scores (C12) |
| fetal exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) (J13) | 4th grade language test scores (C52) |