Working Papers


Inequality in exposure to air pollution in France: bringing pollutant cocktails into the picture 

Abstract: I estimate the relationship between income, frequency of exposure to air pollution and the composition of air pollution (’cocktail days’) using French municipal data over the period 2012-2018. I propose a new method for assessing exposure to air pollution cocktails, based on two new indicators that take into account simultaneous and mul tiple exposure to several air pollutants. I find contrasting results between rural and urban areas. The most affluent urban municipalities have on average a lower number of pollution days compared to the poorest urban municipalities. However, the pollution days are composed of an equal proportion of cocktail days between the poorest and the most affluent urban municipalities. In rural areas, on the other hand, wealthier municipalities have a higher number of pollution days, composed of a higher proportion of cocktail days than poorer municipalities. I also show that pollution levels are higher overall in urban areas, as well as the proportion of cocktail days. In addition, the exposure gap is greater in urban areas.

Heat Waves, Mortality and Adaptation in France (WP soon)

Abstract: 

This paper assesses the effect of extreme heat on mortality using monthly data for French municipalities over 1980-2019. By leveraging year-to-year random variations in temperature, I show that extreme heat significantly increases the mortality rate, especially for people aged over 80. I also show that the impact of heat decreased after the major heatwave of 2003 due to the public and private measures that followed. Specifically, days over 30°C are 7 times less deadly for people over 80 after 2003. The study also highlights the greater vulnerability of people living in densely populated cities and the greater resilience of Mediterranean municipalities to heat waves. In urban cities, a day over 30°C is 2.5 times more deadly for the elderly. Moreover, due to the population's acclimatisation to high temperatures and a higher air-conditioning equipment rate, a day above 30°C has 5.6 times less impact on the overall mortality rate in Mediterranean municipalities. Finally, I estimate the future trend of heat-related deaths due to climate change. I show that in the medium term (2041-2070), global warming will increase the number of deaths over the age of 75 due to maximum temperatures above 35°C by a factor of 5, if current adaptation methods are not improved and if greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise at the current rate (RCP 8.5).


Policy Notes


Des cocktails délétères : Les inégalités d’exposition aux pollutions de l’air en France. LIEPP Policy Brief n°64, 2023. 

Inégalités environnementales et sociales se superposent-elles ?, with Mathilde Viennot and Julien Fosse, La note d’analyse de France Stratégie, vol. 112, no. 7, 2022, pp. 1-16. 


Work In Progress