Essays in environmental economics and human capital
[Thesis]
Roth, Sefi
Royal Holloway, University of London
2016
Thesis (Ph.D.)
2016
This PhD thesis examines the link between air pollution and human capital. The first two chapters evaluate the effect of short-term exposures to ambient and indoor pollution on test scores. I exploit the panel structure of the data to estimate models with individual fixed effects. I find that exposure to elevated levels of ambient and indoor pollution has a statistically and economically significant effect on high school exit exams in Israel and on university examinations in the UK. In the third chapter I study whether random disturbances during high-stakes examinations, induced by pollution, have long-term consequences for schooling and labor force outcomes. To do this I examine the same Israeli students 10 years after graduation and find that exposure to ambient pollution during their high school exit exams is negatively associated with post-secondary educational attainment and earnings. Overall, this thesis shows that a narrow focus on traditional health outcomes, such as hospitalization, may understate the true cost of pollution and highlights how reliance on noisy signals of student quality can lead to allocative inefficiency.