Abstract
Both current development researchers and economic historians have found strong effects of atmospheric pollution on mortality outcomes, but historical researchers have been limited in their ability to assess the effects of pollution on a wide range of health indicators. This is especially important since the disease environment and average health were different in the past than in developing countries today. This paper uses fog events at a daily level as a proxy for extreme pollution events in historical London (1887-1914) and tests exposure to fog at birth and at the time of sickness to assess the impact of pollution on a wide range of indicators for health including birth outcomes (birth weight, length, stillbirth, premature birth and neonatal death), mortality outcomes (mortality before age 5), growth outcomes (heights and weights in infancy, childhood and adolescence), and morbidity outcomes (sickness duration from respiratory diseases). Being born on a fog day did not have strong effects on birth or growth outcomes; there are suggestive effects that being born on a fog day increased mortality risk from respiratory diseases; and mixed effects for sickness duration. For instance, children born on fog days had substantially (and statistically significant) longer sickness durations from influenza and measles between ages 5 and 15, but there were no such effects for other respiratory diseases. We also find instantaneous effects of fog on sickness duration from respiratory infections. Overall, the results suggest that atmospheric pollution mattered for health but was not a predominant driver of ill-health (at least on this margin).
GENPOP has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 865356). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Collegamento Microsoft Teams
Organizzazione
Nicola Barban