Does Pollution Drive Achievement? The Effect of Traffic Pollution on Academic Performance. NBER Working Paper No. 25489
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| Title: | Does Pollution Drive Achievement? The Effect of Traffic Pollution on Academic Performance. NBER Working Paper No. 25489 |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Heissel, Jennifer, Persico, Claudia, Simon, David, National Bureau of Economic Research |
| Source: | National Bureau of Economic Research. 2019. |
| Availability: | National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Publication Date: | 2019 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education Junior High Schools Middle Schools Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Pollution, Motor Vehicles, Weather, Geographic Location, School Buildings, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Academic Achievement, Behavior Problems, Attendance, Climate, Environmental Influences |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of school traffic pollution on student outcomes by leveraging variation in wind patterns for schools the same distance from major highways. We compare within-student achievement for students transitioning between schools near highways, where one school has had greater levels of pollution because it is downwind of a highway. Students who move from an elementary/middle school that feeds into a "downwind" middle/high school in the same zip code experience decreases in test scores, more behavioral incidents, and more absences, relative to when they transition to an upwind school. Even within zip codes, microclimates can contribute to inequality. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2019 |
| Access URL: | https://www.nber.org/papers/w25489 |
| Accession Number: | ED594371 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of school traffic pollution on student outcomes by leveraging variation in wind patterns for schools the same distance from major highways. We compare within-student achievement for students transitioning between schools near highways, where one school has had greater levels of pollution because it is downwind of a highway. Students who move from an elementary/middle school that feeds into a "downwind" middle/high school in the same zip code experience decreases in test scores, more behavioral incidents, and more absences, relative to when they transition to an upwind school. Even within zip codes, microclimates can contribute to inequality. |
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