Abstract:
We assess the U.S. Clean Air Act standards for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Using highresolution data, we find that the 2005 regulation lowered PM2.5 levels by −0.4µm−3 over five years, with larger effects in more polluted areas. Standard difference-in-differences overstate these effects by a factor of three because time trends differ by baseline pollution, a bias we overcome with three alternative approaches. We show that the regulation contributed to narrowing
Urban-Rural and Black-White PM2.5 exposure disparities, but less than difference-in-differences suggest. Pollution damages capitalized into house prices, on the other hand, appear larger than previously thought when leveraging regulatory variation.
The seminar will be held in room 1249 (12th floor) at Eilert Sundts Hus. The address is Moltke Moes vei 31.