Disentangling the causal effects of air pollutants on health: when the numerous characteristics of the planetary boundary layer can help
Alexandre Godzinski  1, *@  , Milena Suarez Castillo  2, *@  
1 : French Ministry of Environment - CREST
Centre de Recherche en Économie et STatistique (CREST)
2 : Insee-Crest
Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE)
* : Corresponding author

Quasi-experimental evidence increasingly support the air pollution detrimental effect on health, but the question of which air pollutants impact which pathology remains largely open. In this paper, we exploit a novel sets of instruments: altitude weather conditions, and more specifically the characteristics of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Numerous physical characteristics may influence differently the air pollutants' concentrations. By selecting optimal instruments from a large set of PBL characteristics with a IV Lasso procedure, we disentangle separately the impact of six air pollutants. We find that at least two air pollutants, carbon monoxide and ozone, have a strong effect on respiratory diseases, independently of each other, even when controlling for the other pollutants in presence. Children and elderly are mostly affected and the health costs, substantial.


Online user: 6 Privacy
Loading...