The WHO air quality standards were renewed in September 2021. The largest decrease (75%) targeted the annual value of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Despite the severity of the new guidelines, economic studies that estimate the impact of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are lacking. The present study aims to start filling this gap by estimating the impact of the daily concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on the number of hospital admissions due to respiratory-related reasons in Portugal between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. I find that a 1 microg/m3 increase in daily nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration leads to a 2.6% increase in the number of hospital admissions due to specific respiratory-related reasons (pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma) among the children 2 – 5 years old. When considering the group of the most polluted parishes in the country, the magnitude of the impact increases to 3.3%, suggesting a non-linear relationship between exposure and the impact. A back-of-the-envelope estimate of the costs of a 1 microg/m3 increase in daily NO2 concentration is between 260 and 830 thousand euros (2018). In Portugal, the richer, younger, and more educated part of the population is exposed to higher-than-average daily NO2 concentrations. I propose Low Emission Zones as an efficient policy to decrease ambient nitrogen dioxide levels in Portugal. (JMP)

Air pollution has been considered in the literature an important driving force underlying the long-lasting puzzle of the negative relationship between unemployment and mortality rates in the US. I use a newly developed satellite-based dataset on local pollutant concentrations and demographic characteristics at a county level in the US to explore the relationship between the two factors in different contexts and to identify the conditions under which this effect is present. I find evidence that the mechanism “Unemployment increases -> local pollution decreases -> mortality decreases” may partially explain the identified puzzle. Yet, as shown in this paper, it is only present when pollution levels and/or the decrease in the pollutants’ concentration exposure are close to or above the average levels. These results suggest that to better estimate the impact of economic recessions on health outcomes and to implement the appropriate environmental policies to reduce local populations’ air pollution exposure, a clear understanding of the underlying local conditions, spatially and over time, that may drive those interactions is required. (work in progress)

The effect of individual-level daily silicon dust exposure from cement production on the probability of hospital admissions for respiratory- related reasons is examined. We use an aerodynamic dispersion model to calculate pollutants’ exposure. The dataset was collected at the cement plant in Bryanskii region, Russia. We find significant impact of silicon dust on hospitalizations for children and elderly adults. We identify a non-linear response of the individual probability of hospital admissions to the average daily inhaled concentrations in the city area where exposure is higher. Our findings contribute to better inform policymakers aiming at reducing industrial air pollution exposure in Russia. (work in progress)