How messy
Polluted morality: Air pollution predicts criminal activity and unethical behavior
Jackson Lu et al.
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Air pollution is a serious problem that influences billions of people globally. Although the health and environmental costs of air pollution are well known, the present research investigates its ethical costs. We propose that air pollution can increase criminal and unethical behavior by increasing anxiety. Analyses of a nine-year panel of 9,360 U.S. cities found that air pollution predicted six different categories of crime; these analyses accounted for a comprehensive set of control variables (e.g., city and year fixed effects, population, law enforcement) and survived various robustness checks (e.g., non-parametric bootstrapped standard errors, balanced panel). Three subsequent experiments involving American and Indian participants established the causal effect of psychologically experiencing a polluted (vs. clean) environment on unethical behavior. Consistent with our theoretical perspective, anxiety mediated this effect. Air pollution not only corrupts people’s health, but also can contaminate their morality.
Longitudinal Analysis of Particulate Air Pollutants and Adolescent Delinquent Behavior in Southern California
Diana Younan et al.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Animal experiments and cross-sectional human studies have linked particulate matter (PM) with increased behavioral problems. We conducted a longitudinal study to examine whether the trajectories of delinquent behavior are affected by PM2.5 (PM with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) exposures before and during adolescence. We used the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist at age 9–18 with repeated measures every ~2–3 years (up to 4 behavioral assessments) on 682 children from the Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior Study conducted in a multi-ethnic cohort of twins born in 1990–1995. Based on prospectively-collected residential addresses and a spatiotemporal model of ambient air concentrations in Southern California, monthly PM2.5 estimates were aggregated to represent long-term (1-, 2-, 3-year average) exposures preceding baseline and cumulative average exposure until the last assessment. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to examine the association between PM2.5 exposure and individual trajectories of delinquent behavior, adjusting for within-family/within-individual correlations and potential confounders. We also examined whether psychosocial factors modified this association. The results sμggest that PM2.5 exposure at baseline and cumulative exposure during follow-up was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with increased delinquent behavior. The estimated effect sizes (per interquartile increase of PM2.5 by 3.12–5.18 μg/m3) were equivalent to the difference in delinquency scores between adolescents who are 3.5–4 years apart in age. The adverse effect was stronger in families with unfavorable parent-to-child relationships, increased parental stress or maternal depressive symptoms. Overall, these findings sμggest long-term PM2.5 exposure may increase delinquent behavior of urban-dwelling adolescents, with the resulting neurotoxic effect aggravated by psychosocial adversities.
Fresh Air Eases Work - The Effect of Air Quality on Individual Investor Activity
Steffen Meyer & Michaela Pagel
NBER Working Paper, November 2017
Abstract:
This paper shows that air quality has a significantly negative effect on the likelihood of individual investors to sit down, log in, and trade in their brokerage accounts controlling for investor-, weather-, traffic-, and market-specific factors. In perspective, a one standard deviation increase in fine particulate matter leads to the same reduction in the probability of logging in and trading as a one standard deviation increase in sunshine. We document this effect for low levels of pollution that are commonly found throughout the developed world. As individual investor trading can be a proxy for everyday cognitively-demanding tasks such as office work, our findings suggest that the negative effects of pollution on white-collar work productivity are much more severe than previously thought. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a negative impact of pollution on a measure of white-collar productivity at the individual level in a western country.
Prenatal Air Pollution and Newborns' Predisposition to Accelerated Biological Aging
Dries Martens et al.
JAMA Pediatrics, December 2017, Pages 1160-1167
Design, Setting, and Participants: In a prospective birth cohort (ENVIRONAGE [Environmental Influence on Ageing in Early Life]), a total of 730 mother-newborn pairs were recruited in Flanders, Belgium between February 2010 and December 2014, all with a singleton full-term birth (≥37 weeks of gestation). For statistical analysis, participants with full data on both cord blood and placental telomere lengths were included, resulting in a final study sample size of 641.
Results: In 641 newborns, cord blood and placental telomere length were significantly and inversely associated with PM2.5 exposure during midgestation (weeks 12-25 for cord blood and weeks 15-27 for placenta). A 5-µg/m3 increment in PM2.5 exposure during the entire pregnancy was associated with 8.8% (95% CI, −14.1% to −3.1%) shorter cord blood leukocyte telomeres and 13.2% (95% CI, −19.3% to −6.7%) shorter placental telomere length. These associations were controlled for date of delivery, gestational age, maternal body mass index, maternal age, paternal age, newborn sex, newborn ethnicity, season of delivery, parity, maternal smoking status, maternal educational level, pregnancy complications, and ambient temperature.
The effects of air pollution on individual psychological distress
Victoria Sass et al.
Health & Place, November 2017, Pages 72-79
Abstract:
This study is the first of its kind to utilize longitudinal, nationally representative panel data from the United States to assess the relationship between exposure to air pollution and reports of psychological distress. Using annual-average measures of air pollution in respondents' census blocks of residence we find that over the period 1999–2011 particulate matter 2.5 is significantly associated with increased psychological distress; this association remains even after controlling for a robust set of demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related covariates. This study suggests that public health efforts to reduce the personal and societal costs of mental illness should consider addressing not only individual characteristics and factors in the social environment, but also underexplored facets of the physical environment such as air pollution.
Hydraulic fracturing and infant health: New evidence from Pennsylvania
Janet Currie, Michael Greenstone & Katherine Meckel
Science Advances, December 2017
Abstract:
The development of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is considered the biggest change to the global energy production system in the last half-century. However, several communities have banned fracking because of unresolved concerns about the impact of this process on human health. To evaluate the potential health impacts of fracking, we analyzed records of more than 1.1 million births in Pennsylvania from 2004 to 2013, comparing infants born to mothers living at different distances from active fracking sites and those born both before and after fracking was initiated at each site. We adjusted for fixed maternal determinants of infant health by comparing siblings who were and were not exposed to fracking sites in utero. We found evidence for negative health effects of in utero exposure to fracking sites within 3 km of a mother’s residence, with the largest health impacts seen for in utero exposure within 1 km of fracking sites. Negative health impacts include a greater incidence of low–birth weight babies as well as significant declines in average birth weight and in several other measures of infant health. There is little evidence for health effects at distances beyond 3 km, suggesting that health impacts of fracking are highly local. Informal estimates suggest that about 29,000 of the nearly 4 million annual U.S. births occur within 1 km of an active fracking site and that these births therefore may be at higher risk of poor birth outcomes.
Fracking and public health: Evidence from gonorrhea incidence in the Marcellus Shale region
Tim Komarek & Attila Cseh
Journal of Public Health Policy, November 2017, Pages 464–481
Abstract:
The United States (US) began to experience a boom in natural gas production in the 2000s due to the advent of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling technology. While the natural gas boom affected many people through lower energy prices, the strongest effects were concentrated in smaller communities where the fracking occurred. We analyze one potential cost to communities where fracking takes place: an increase of sexually transmitted diseases. We use a quasi-natural experiment within the Marcellus shale region plus panel data estimation techniques to quantify the impact of fracking activity on local gonorrhea incidences. We found fracking activity to be associated with an increase in gonorrhea. Our findings may be useful to public health officials. To make informed decisions about resource extraction, policy makers as well as regulators and communities need to be informed of all the benefits as well as the costs.
Measuring Environmental and Economic Opinions about Hydraulic Fracturing: A Survey of Landowners in Active or Planned Drilling Units
Gwen Arnold, Benjamin Farrer & Robert Holahan
Review of Policy Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
We investigate how Eastern Ohio landowners affected by the recent boom in high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) view the industry and the factors that affect their attitudes. Our unique sample almost exclusively contains individuals whose land is under lease for and/or experiencing HVHF. Nation- and state-wide surveys that investigate HVHF attitudes tend to find nearly even splits between opposed and supportive respondents, whose views are strongly influenced by political partisanship. These trends largely do not manifest among Eastern Ohio landowners, for whom personal experiences with HVHF crucially influence attitudes. Most respondents support HVHF and say it has benefited their community economically. Political partisanship does not significantly impact HVHF views. Contrary to arguments in the literature that economic considerations drive variation in support for HVHF, landowners’ support for the industry also appears influenced by perceptions of its environmental and infrastructure impacts. Environmental concerns appear to more powerfully shape attitudes than economic benefits.
Fracking Fortunes: Economic Well-being and Oil and Gas Development along the Urban-Rural Continuum
Adam Mayer, Shawn Olson-Hazboun & Stephanie Malin
Rural Sociology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Oil and gas extraction, especially via unconventional means like hydraulic fracturing, is hailed as an economic boon by many commentators and political leaders. However, empirical evidence is limited. In this article, we consider the socioeconomic effects (particularly, related to poverty, employment, income, and wages) of unconventional oil and gas extraction using a national data set of U.S. counties. We use a novel between- and within-county random effects modeling strategy to capture both resource curse and boomtown dynamics. Further, we allow the effect of oil and gas development to be conditioned by county rurality. Broadly, our findings suggest that oil and gas development has very complex effects at the county level. Within-county growth in oil and gas production slightly improves most economic outcomes, but counties that specialize in oil and gas development tend to perform worse than other counties. We find that, in general, the effect of within-county oil and gas production is not significantly moderated by county rurality.
Estimating the future supply of shale oil: A Bakken case study
James Smith
Energy Economics, January 2018, Pages 395–403
Abstract:
We propose a new way to estimate the supply curve of remaining shale oil reserves in the U.S. Our method applies the principle of “successive sampling without replacement” to derive from historical drilling data maximum likelihood estimates of the number and productivity of remaining drilling sites. Unlike existing techniques, this approach identifies the portion of “technically recoverable” resources that can be developed economically at alternative price levels. For example, we estimate that 50% of remaining technically recoverable resources located in the Bakken play — roughly 8 billion barrels — could be developed economically if the oil price remains near $50/barrel.
Corporate Environmental Policy and Shareholder Value: Following the Smart Money
Chitru Fernando, Mark Sharfman & Vahap Uysal
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, October 2017, Pages 2023-2051
Abstract:
We examine the value consequences of corporate social responsibility through the lens of institutional shareholders. We find a sharp asymmetry between corporate policies that mitigate the firm’s exposure to environmental risk and those that enhance its perceived environmental friendliness (“greenness”). Institutional investors shun stocks with high environmental risk exposure, which we show have lower valuations, as predicted by risk management theory. These findings suggest that corporate environmental policies that mitigate environmental risk exposure create shareholder value. In contrast, firms that increase greenness do not create shareholder value and are also shunned by institutional investors.
Do Investors Actually Value Sustainability? New Evidence from Investor Reactions to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)
Olga Hawn, Aaron Chatterji & Will Mitchell
Strategic Management Journal, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research exploring investor reactions to sustainability has substantial empirical limitations, which we address with a large-scale longitudinal financial event study of the first global sustainability index, DJSI World. We examine investor reactions to firms from 27 countries over 17 years that are added, deleted, or continue on the index. We find that once relevant controls and comparisons to observationally-equivalent firms beyond the index are included, DJSI events have only limited significance and/or materiality. Nonetheless, investors’ valuation of sustainability around the world has evolved over time, involving diminishing reactions to U.S. firms and increasing benefits, particularly of continuation on the index, over time. The study highlights the importance of careful analysis and longitudinal global samples in making inferences about the financial effects of social performance.
How Does Mandatory Energy Efficiency Disclosure Affect Housing Prices?
Alecia Waite Cassidy
University of Michigan Working Paper, October 2017
Abstract:
Energy efficiency disclosure is an increasingly popular policy tool that has the potential to address market failures due to imperfect information in housing markets. However, there is little evidence that these policies increase capitalization of energy efficiency. This paper examines the effects of a mandatory energy efficiency disclosure policy on housing prices in Austin, TX. I compare prices before and after the introduction of the policy for homes with different levels of energy efficiency features. I find that the policy increased capitalization of energy efficiency features, and that the increase was larger for features that were more difficult to observe before the policy. The results highlight the important role of mandatory information disclosure policies in increasing the returns to energy efficiency investments by homeowners.
Foodservice Composting Crowds Out Consumer Food Waste Reduction Behavior in a Dining Experiment
Danyi Qi & Brian Roe
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, October 2017, Pages 1159–1171
Abstract:
Many countries strive to reduce food waste, which deprives hungry people of nutrition, depletes resources, and accounts for substantial greenhouse gas emissions. Composting and other food waste recycling technologies that divert food waste from landfills mitigate the environmental damages of food waste disposal and have grown in popularity. We explore whether consumer knowledge that the environmental damage created by their food waste will be mitigated by recycling technologies undermines personal food waste reduction behavior. Subjects in a dining situation are randomly assigned whether or not they receive information about the negative effects of landfilling food waste and whether they are told that uneaten food from the study will be composted or landfilled. We find that providing information about the negative effects of food waste in landfills significantly reduces the total amount of solid food waste created when compared to a control situation that features neither a food waste reduction nor a food waste recycling policy. However, if subjects are also informed that food waste from the study will be composted, the amount of solid food waste generated is significantly greater than if only the food waste reduction policy were implemented. This suggests a crowding out effect or informational rebound effect in which promoting policies that mitigate the environmental damages of food waste may unintentionally undermine policies meant to encourage individual consumer food waste reduction. We discuss key policy implications as well as several limitations of our experimental setting and analysis.
Heterogeneous Direct Rebound Effect: Theory and Evidence from the Energy Star Program
Bixuan Sun
Energy Economics, January 2018, Pages 335–349
Abstract:
Improvements in energy efficiency change the relative prices of energy services and thus the consumption of those services. This so-called direct rebound effect changes the energy savings that improved efficiency might otherwise achieve. This paper develops a theoretical model that shows the sign of the direct rebound effect depends on the type of energy service. Empirical evidence from the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey data shows a negative direct rebound effect for Energy Star dishwashers and a potentially positive direct rebound effect for Energy Star air conditioners. Negative rebound effects amplify energy savings, while positive rebound effects offset energy savings from using more efficient technologies.
Potential Exposure and Cancer Risk from Formaldehyde Emissions from Installed Chinese Manufactured Laminate Flooring
Patrick Sheehan et al.
Risk Analysis, forthcoming
Abstract:
Lumber Liquidators (LL) Chinese-manufactured laminate flooring (CLF) has been installed in >400,000 U.S. homes over the last decade. To characterize potential associated formaldehyde exposures and cancer risks, chamber emissions data were collected from 399 new LL CLF, and from LL CLF installed in 899 homes in which measured aggregate indoor formaldehyde concentrations exceeded 100 μg/m3 from a total of 17,867 homes screened. Data from both sources were combined to characterize LL CLF flooring-associated formaldehyde emissions from new boards and installed boards. New flooring had an average (±SD) emission rate of 61.3 ± 52.1 μg/m2-hour; >one-year installed boards had ∼threefold lower emission rates. Estimated emission rates for the 899 homes and corresponding data from questionnaires were used as inputs to a single-compartment, steady-state mass-balance model to estimate corresponding residence-specific TWA formaldehyde concentrations and potential resident exposures. Only ∼0.7% of those homes had estimated acute formaldehyde concentrations >100 μg/m3 immediately after LL CLF installation. The TWA daily formaldehyde inhalation exposure within the 899 homes was estimated to be 17 μg/day using California Proposition 65 default methods to extrapolate cancer risk (below the regulation “no significant risk level” of 40 μg/day). Using a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency linear cancer risk model, 50th and 95th percentile values of expected lifetime cancer risk for residents of these homes were estimated to be 0.33 and 1.2 per 100,000 exposed, respectively. Based on more recent data and verified nonlinear cancer risk assessment models, LL CLF formaldehyde emissions pose virtually no cancer risk to affected consumers.