Working Paper: NBER ID: w25489
Authors: Jennifer Heissel; Claudia Persico; David Simon
Abstract: We examine the effect of school traffic pollution on student outcomes by leveraging variation in wind patterns for schools the same distance from major highways. We compare within-student achievement for students transitioning between schools near highways, where one school has had greater levels of pollution because it is downwind of a highway. Students who move from an elementary/middle school that feeds into a “downwind” middle/high school in the same zip code experience decreases in test scores, more behavioral incidents, and more absences, relative to when they transition to an upwind school. Even within zip codes, microclimates can contribute to inequality.
Keywords: traffic pollution; academic performance; student outcomes; environmental policy
JEL Codes: I20; I24; I3; Q53; R4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Attending a school downwind of a highway (R41) | Decrease in test scores (I21) |
| Attending a school downwind of a highway (R41) | Increase in behavioral incidents (C92) |
| Attending a school downwind of a highway (R41) | Increase in absences (J22) |
| Pollution exposure (Q53) | Decrease in test scores (I21) |
| Pollution exposure (Q53) | Increase in behavioral incidents (C92) |
| Pollution exposure (Q53) | Increase in absences (J22) |