Working Paper: NBER ID: w30181
Authors: Jamie Hansenlewis; Michelle M. Marcus
Abstract: Maritime shipping emits as much fine particulate matter as half of global road traffic. We are the first to measure the consequences of US maritime emissions standards on air quality, human health, racial exposure disparities, and behavior. The introduction of US maritime emissions control areas significantly decreased fine particulate matter, low birth weight, and infant mortality. Yet, only about half of the forecasted fine particulate matter abatement was achieved by the policy. We show evidence consistent with behavioral responses among ship operators, other polluters, and individuals that muted the policy’s impact, but were not incorporated in ex-ante models.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: F18; I14; Q52; Q53; Q56
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Introduction of ECAs (F36) | 4% decrease in population-weighted average fine particulate matter (Q53) |
| 4% decrease in population-weighted average fine particulate matter (Q53) | 17% reduction in incidence of low birth weight (I14) |
| 4% decrease in population-weighted average fine particulate matter (Q53) | 28% decline in infant mortality (I14) |
| Introduction of ECAs (F36) | 1,536 fewer low birth weight infants (J13) |
| Introduction of ECAs (F36) | 228 fewer infant deaths per year (J17) |
| Introduction of ECAs (F36) | $2.3 billion in economic savings from improved infant health (J13) |
| Behavioral responses from ship operators and other polluters (Q52) | diminished effectiveness of the ECA (F36) |