What Do We Know About Short- and Long-Term Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Pollution?

Posted: 8 Oct 2014

See all articles by Janet Currie

Janet Currie

Princeton University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Joshua Graff Zivin

School of Global Policy and Strategy; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Jaime Mullens

University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

Matthew Neidell

Columbia University; University of Chicago - Department of Economics and CISES; PERC - Property and Environment Research Center

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Date Written: November 2014

Abstract

Evidence shows that pollution exposure early in life is detrimental to near-term health, and an increasing body of evidence suggests that early-childhood health influences health and human capital outcomes later in life. This article reviews the economic research that brings these two literatures together. We begin with a conceptual model that highlights the core relationships across the life cycle. We then review the literature concerned with such estimates, focusing particularly on identification strategies to mitigate concerns regarding endogenous exposure. The nascent empirical literature provides both direct and indirect evidence that early-childhood exposure to pollution significantly impacts later-life outcomes. We discuss the potential policy implications of these long-lasting effects and conclude with a number of promising avenues for future research.

Suggested Citation

Currie, Janet and Graff Zivin, Joshua and Mullens, Jaime and Neidell, Matthew, What Do We Know About Short- and Long-Term Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Pollution? (November 2014). Annual Review of Resource Economics, Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 217-247, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2507239 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100913-012610

Janet Currie (Contact Author)

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Joshua Graff Zivin

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Jaime Mullens

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Matthew Neidell

Columbia University ( email )

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