Work

What Caused Racial Disparities in Particulate Exposure to Fall? New Evidence from the Clean Air Act and Satellite-Based Measures of Air Quality

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: This project links administrative census microdata to spatially continuous measures of particulate pollution (PM2.5) to first document and then decompose the key drivers of convergence in black-white pollution exposure differences. We use quantile regression to show that a significant portion of the convergence in Black-White exposure is attributable to differential impacts of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in Black and White communities. Areas with larger Black populations saw greater CAA-related declines in PM2.5. We show that the CAA can account for over 60 percent of the racial convergence in PM2.5 pollution exposure in the United States since 2000. (JEL J15, K32, Q51, Q53, Q58)

Source: American Economic Review

DOI: 10.1257/aer.20191957

Authors: Janet Currie, John Voorheis, Reed Walker

Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, Princeton University, United States Census Bureau, University of Oregon, University of California, Berkeley

Language: English

Topic: Environmental Justice and Health Disparities

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W3135546676