Environmental Regulations, Air and Water Pollution, and Infant Mortality in India

44 Pages Posted: 11 Aug 2011 Last revised: 16 Jan 2014

See all articles by Michael Greenstone

Michael Greenstone

University of Chicago - Department of Economics; Becker Friedman Institute for Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Rema Hanna

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: December 30, 2013

Abstract

Using the most comprehensive developing country dataset ever compiled on air and water pollution and environmental regulations, the paper assesses India’s environmental regulations with a difference-in-differences design. The air pollution regulations are associated with substantial improvements in air quality. The most successful air regulation resulted in a modest, but statistically insignificant decline in infant mortality. In contrast, the water regulations had no measurable benefits. The available evidence leads us to cautiously conclude that higher demand for air quality prompted the effective enforcement of air pollution regulations, indicating that strong public support allows environmental regulations to succeed in weak institutional settings.

Keywords: Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Benefits of Environmental Regulations, India

JEL Classification: H2, Q5, Q2, O1, R5

Suggested Citation

Greenstone, Michael and Hanna, Rema, Environmental Regulations, Air and Water Pollution, and Infant Mortality in India (December 30, 2013). MIT Department of Economics Working Paper No. 11-11, HKS Working Paper No. RWP11-034, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1907924 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1907924

Michael Greenstone (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Department of Economics

1126 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
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Becker Friedman Institute for Economics ( email )

Chicago, IL 60637
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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Rema Hanna

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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