nep-res 2023-03-27 papers

on Resource Economics

Issue of 2023‒03‒27
two papers chosen by

Adapting to Climate Risk? Local Population Dynamics in the United States By Indaco, Agustín; Ortega, Francesc
Blowin' in the Wind of an Invisible Killer: Long-Term Exposure to Ozone and Respiratory Mortality in the United States By Liu, Ziheng; Chen, Xi; Lu, Qinan

Adapting to Climate Risk? Local Population Dynamics in the United States

By:	Indaco, Agustín (Carnegie Mellon University); Ortega, Francesc (Queens College, CUNY)
Abstract:	Using a new composite climate-risk index, we show that population in high-risk counties has grown disproportionately over the last few decades, even relative to the corresponding commuting zone. We also find that the agglomeration is largely driven by increases in the (white) working-age population. In addition, we show that high-risk tracts have typically grown more than low-risk tracts within the same county, suggesting the presence of highly localized amenities in high-risk areas. We also document heterogeneous population dynamics along a number of dimensions. Specifically, population has been retreating from high-risk, low urbanization locations, but continues to grow in high-risk areas with high residential capital. The findings above hold for most climate hazards. However, we document that tracts with high risk of coastal flooding have grown significantly less than other tracts in the same county.
Keywords:	climate risk, agglomeration, migration
JEL:	J3 J7
Date:	2023–03
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15982&r=res

Blowin' in the Wind of an Invisible Killer: Long-Term Exposure to Ozone and Respiratory Mortality in the United States

By:	Liu, Ziheng (University of Wisconsin-Madison); Chen, Xi (Yale University); Lu, Qinan (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Abstract:	In light of the low public awareness of ozone pollution and the potential health threats posed by long-term ozone exposure, this study estimates the causal effect of long-term ozone exposure on respiratory mortality. By employing an instrumental variable based on the long-distance transmission of ozone from upwind neighbor counties, we discover that an increase of one standard deviation in the average concentrations of ozone in the preceding five years increases respiratory mortality by 0.062–0.066 standard deviations. The findings indicate that long-term ozone exposure increases mortality from both acute and chronic respiratory diseases and has significant adverse effects on vulnerable groups. Furthermore, we discover that the respiratory mortality rate responds to long-term ozone exposure nonlinearly, and that there is a critical threshold at which the adverse effects of ozone exposure commence. Our bootstrap simulation results suggest that if ozone concentrations in the preceding five years decrease by 10 percent, 11, 391 deaths from respiratory diseases could be avoided in the United States annually, with resulting health benefits valued at around $106.85–113.67 billion. Our further estimates suggest that, consistent with general respiratory diseases, long-term ozone exposure also contributes to deaths from COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Keywords:	long-term exposure, ozone, respiratory diseases, nonlinear responses, health benefits, COVID-19
JEL:	I15 J14 Q51 Q53
Date:	2023–03
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15981&r=res

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