Our Project
Our project will:
Study the direct effects of air quality on children’s human capital and health, and how these effects interact
Document the diverse impacts of pollution across neighborhoods, which may differ in public service quality and economic disadvantage
Compile a comprehensive, nationwide dataset on major air pollution sources: toxic plants, air, and maritime ports. This data will help understand how changes in economic activity and transportation over the past two decades have affected children's health and human capital
Our Aims
Poor health can affect educational performance, and poor performance can affect mental health, potentially exacerbating the direct effects of pollution exposure on each outcome. At the same time, the quality of local public service provision and economic advantage may shape pollution effects.
We will investigate the effect of air quality on the wellbeing and development of children in England since the early 2000s. Our focus is on how health and human capital effects reinforce each other, and on the role of neighbourhood quality in mediating these effects.
We seek to understand what are the short- and long-run effects of air pollution on children’s human capital, physical, and mental health, how these effects reinforce each other, and whether neighbourhood quality (such as schools and healthcare services) mediate these effects.
Our Approach
We will combine several survey and administrative sources on businesses, pollution, and children's health and education.
Data from the Office for National Statistics indicate that 7.5 and 13% of UK businesses in the production industry opened and closed, respectively, each year in the past decade. Once a PM-emitting plant opens, PM 2.5 increases by 1% in the nearby area. Industrial pollution accounts for 22- 26% of PM 2.5 emissions in the UK, and 19% of children aged 0-14 have lived near a PM-emitting plant that opened or closed (2021 Census).
To assess the effect of pollution from airports, we will study changes in air traffic due to the rapid expansion of the Gulf carriers (Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines, and Etihad Airways) in 2012-2014.
To assess the effects of pollution from maritime ports, we will exploit changes in fuel content regulations in the UK. While being one of the least regulated sources of emission, shipping is a major contributor to air pollution, specifically emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulphur (SOx), and particulate matters (PM2.5 and PM10).
To understand the impact on children's educatino and health outcomes, we will use the Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data (ECHILD).
We will examine the short- and longer-term impact of air pollution from toxic plants, airports, and maritime ports on children’s wellbeing in England by comparing outcomes of children affected by annual changes in air pollution from our sources to those unaffected, because they either live slightly farther away from these sources or belong to a younger/older (unaffected) cohort.
To estimate the impact of cumulative pollution exposure due to the sources we study, we will perform these analyses by age at and duration of exposure. This exercise will answer whether children exposed to air pollution at different ages or for longer spells are differentially affected.
We will explore how neighbourhood characteristics mediate the impact of pollution by combining our linked data on education, health, and pollution with information on house prices, local deprivation, and quality of schools and healthcare services.
Our Expected Outputs
By the end of the project, we aim to:
Generate new knowledge and raise attention on the deleterious effects of pollution on children’s health and ability to develop to their full potential
Provide policymakers with practical recommendations on policies to mitigate adverse pollution effects
Policy briefs outlining the effects of pollution from toxic plants, airports, and maritime ports on children’s health and educational outcomes, as well as how the quality of local healthcare and educational outcomes mitigates these ill-effects
Interactive maps of inequality in environmental and child health