Pollution exposure and child mortality in west Africa

Speaker: Dr Josh Merfeld

Affiliation: The University of Queensland

Location: Level 6 Boardroom (629), Colin Clark Building (#39), St Lucia Campus

Zoom:  https://uqz.zoom.us/j/82603079317

Abstract: Using a new daily dataset on pollution across west Africa, we analyze the effects of pollution exposure in utero and post-birth on child mortality. Building on previous work and using DHS data, we use not just fixed effects models but also instrument for pollution using temperature inversions. We find that exposure to higher levels of PM 2.5 during pregnancy increases the probability of under-5 mortality, as does exposure to higher levels of PM 2.5 during the year after birth. Importantly, we show that the levels at which mortality starts to increase are low.