Publications

Wildfires and Agricultural Worker Movement  (With Tim Beatty) 

(Forthcoming at Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists) (manuscript)

Wildfires and Agricultural Worker Injury (With Tim Beatty) 

(Conditionally Accepted, American Journal of Agricultural Economics) 

Working Paper

The Impact of Wildfire Smoke Exposure on Crime (With Seunghyun Lee)

(Revise and Resubmit (minor revision invited), Environmental & Resource Economics)

Using crime data from 21 major U.S. cities spanning 2007--20, this paper studies the impacts of wildfire smoke on crimes. Wildfire smoke simultaneously increases concentrations of multiple pollutants—PM2.5, NO2, and ozone—all of which are associated with heightened violent crime, and it introduces unique factors—such as odor and reduced visibility—underscoring the necessity of considering wildfire as a single treatment variable. Our results show that wildfire smoke significantly increases crime, with particularly notable impacts on violent and drug-related crimes. Our findings show that crime rates surge on the first and second consecutive days of smoke exposure but diminish from the third day onward, possibly due to adaptive behaviors to limit smoke exposure. On days with air quality alerts, crime falls, suggesting these alerts prompt individuals to adapt to smoke exposure. A back-of-the-envelope calculation estimates that eliminating wildfires could save approximately $617 million annually in reduced violent crime, a figure comparable to the physical damages caused by wildfires.

Farmworker Labor and Extreme Temperatures (With Tim Beatty) 

(draft)

Using high-frequency location data of individuals, we explore the relationship between temperature and farm worker labor in California. We find that, on hot days, workers show up less for work, and when they do work, they tend to work fewer hours. We also find temporal substitution: workers work more during sunrise and sunset hours to avoid extreme heat. In addition, an individual's working hours in a field with more frequent hot days are not reduced during elevated temperatures; instead, the likelihood of adjusting work schedules to sunrise and sunset hours increases. Conversely, workers in cooler environments tend to reduce their work activities. Workers in more perishable crop fields are more likely to show up at work after unusually hot days than those in less perishable crops, potentially to prevent crop spoilage. In addition, we find that small farms are less likely to have workers going to work on hot days compared to large farms.  

Temperature and Agricultural Worker Injury (With Tim Beatty) 

(draft available upon request)

This study investigates the impact of extreme temperatures on agricultural worker injuries using the worker's compensation system in California from 2000 to 2021. We find that extreme temperatures significantly increase agricultural worker injuries. In particular, the impact on heat-related injuries among agricultural workers is more than 10 times greater than in other industries. We also find that exposure to heat significantly increases non-heat-related injuries such as traumatic injuries. Notably, the implementation of the Heat Illness Prevention regulation effectively reduced injuries resulting from extreme heat exposure. Our findings also suggest evidence of adaptation among agricultural workers. Workers in cooler climates are more susceptible to heat-related illnesses, while workers in warm climates exhibit a more pronounced impact on traumatic injuries. Additionally, we find that newly hired workers are more vulnerable to injuries caused by extreme heat.

Agricultural Burning and Farmworker Injuries (With Tim Beatty)  

(draft available upon request)

Agricultural burning has long been used for various purposes including removing crop residue and controlling pests in U.S. agriculture producing tons of air pollutants. Prior research has mainly focused on its effect on the general population particularly in developing countries. Using data from the major seven air districts in California engaged in agricultural burning and worker’s compensation

information from 2000 to 2021, we investigate the impact of exposure to smoke from agricultural burnings on agricultural workers’ injuries. By leveraging daily changes in fire location and wind direction for identification, our findings show that smoke exposure increases injuries among agricultural workers working downwind of burning sites. The impact on farmworker injuries is larger when

agricultural burnings occur over consecutive days.

Work in Progress

Temperature and School Shooting in the U.S. (With Seunghyun Lee)

The Impacts of Climate Change on Agricultural Worker Injuries (Sarah Whitnall and Tim Beatty)

Pesticide and Agricultural Worker Injury (With Tim Beatty)