Data and Code for "Killing Prescriptions Softly: Low Emission Zones and Child Health from Birth to School"

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Hannah Klauber, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC); Felix Holub, House of Finance, Goethe University Frankfurt; Nicolas Koch, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC); Nico Pestel, Maastricht University, School of Business and Economics, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA); Nolan Ritter, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC); Alexander Rohlf, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
code			02/14/2023 05:04:PM
data			09/06/2022 04:04:AM
renv			02/14/2023 04:58:PM
results			09/05/2022 06:43:PM
README.pdf	application/pdf	122.4 KB	02/15/2023 11:18:PM
killing_prescriptions_softly.Rproj	text/plain	205 bytes	09/05/2022 02:43:PM
renv.lock	text/plain	41.8 KB	09/05/2022 02:43:PM

Project Citation:

Klauber, Hannah, Holub, Felix, Koch, Nicolas, Pestel, Nico , Ritter, Nolan, and Rohlf, Alexander. Data and Code for “Killing Prescriptions Softly: Low Emission Zones and Child Health from Birth to School.” Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-04-08. https://doi.org/10.3886/E179281V1

Project Description

Summary: We examine the persistence of the impact of early-life exposure to air pollution on children’s health from birth to school enrollment using administrative public health insurance records covering one third of all children in Germany. For identification, we exploit air quality improvements caused by Low Emission Zones, a policy imposing driving restrictions on emission-intensive vehicles. Our results indicate that children exposed to cleaner air in-utero and their first year of life require less medication for at least five years. The initially latent health response materializes only gradually, leaving important but subtle health benefits undetected in common measures of infant health.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: policy evaluation; cohort study; air pollution; health; children; Low Emission Zone

JEL Classification:
      I12 Health Behavior
      J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
      Q53 Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
      Q58 Environmental Economics: Government Policy

Geographic Coverage: Germany

Time Period(s): 2006 – 2017

Universe: Children born in the years 2006 through 2012 in Germany.

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Published Versions

V1 [2024-04-08]

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