Can Pollution Cause Poverty? The Effects of Pollution on Educational, Health, and Economic Outcomes

Abstract

Although pollution is widespread, there is little evidence on how it affects children's long-run outcomes. Using detailed, geocoded longitudinal data, we compare siblings who were gestating before versus after a Toxic Release Inventory site opened or closed within one mile of their home. We find that children who were exposed prenatally to industrial pollution have lower wages, are more likely to live in poverty as adults, have fewer years of completed education, and score lower on a summary index of long-run outcomes than their unexposed siblings.