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Economic Inequality and Air Pollution

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Atlanta Marriott Marquis, L508
Hosted By: American Economic Association
  • Chair: Meredith Fowlie, University of California-Berkeley

Does Environmental Policy Affect Income Inequality? Evidence from The Clean Air Act.

Akshaya Jha
,
Carnegie Mellon University
Peter Matthews
,
Middlebury College
Nick Muller
,
Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract

This paper examines whether air pollution regulation has an effect on income inequality using both market income and the adjusted income measure. In particular, this work assesses whether air quality improvements achieved under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) have affected standard measures of income inequality. Our focus is on the PM2.5 and ozone NAAQS. We find that the PM NAAQS significantly reduced within-county averages and dispersion of exposures and damages. We find no such evidence for the ozone NAAQS. Both policy changes appear to have exacerbated income inequality, defined using both market and pollution damage-adjusted income.

Discrimination in Ambient Pollution Monitoring?

Corbett Grainger
,
University of Wisconsin
Andrew Schreiber
,
Environmental Protection Agency

Abstract

In the United States, ambient air quality is regulated through National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Enforcement of these standards is delegated to state and sub-state regulators who are also tasked with designing their own monitoring networks for ambient pollution. Past work has found evidence consistent with strategic behavior: local regulators strategically avoid pollution hotspots when siting monitors. This paper assesses whether income and race have historically played a role in monitor siting decisions.

Estimating Inequality in Air Pollution Exposure

Meredith Fowlie
,
University of California-Berkeley
Ed Rubin
,
University of Oregon
Reed Walker
,
University of California-Berkeley

Abstract

Air pollution exposure has traditionally been assessed using a sparse network of ambient monitors that measure pollution concentrations directly. In the U.S., compliance with ambient air quality standards is determined on the basis of measurements averaged to the county level. This sparse measurement fails to capture significant spatial variation in air pollution concentrations. Increasingly rich data and associated methodological advances now make it possible to estimate pollution concentrations at a much finer spatial scale. We assess the implications of using spatially disaggregated estimates of air pollution concentrations–versus relatively sparse direct measurements- to characterize variation in air pollution exposure and compliance along income and race dimensions.
Discussant(s)
Catherine Hausman
,
University of Michigan
JR DeShazo
,
University of California-Los Angeles
Nicholas Sanders
,
Cornell University
JEL Classifications
  • Q5 - Environmental Economics