We measure the impact of three components of air pollution on daily labor productivity in call centers in five Indian cities.  We find that a one standard deviation increase in fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), a pollutant that has been the primary focus of the literature on the harms of air pollution, has a large negative effect of 0.15σ on productivity.  Notably, we find a comparable negative effect for a one standard deviation increase in carbon monoxide of 0.14σ as well as a negative effect of 0.09σ from ozone. In summing air pollution harms across our sample, carbon monoxide is responsible for more than half of the total productivity lost, which is more than double the losses attributable to PM_2.5. Our results underscore the importance of considering components of air pollution beyond particulate matter.  To that end, we illustrate the potential productivity impacts of a national policy in India that targets PM_2.5 compared to a counterfactual policy that also targets carbon monoxide and ozone.

Rationale

Little is known about the long-term effects of air pollution exposure and the root causes of asthma. We use exposure to intense air pollution from the 1952 Great Smog of London as a natural experiment to examine both issues.

Objectives

To determine whether exposure to extreme air pollution in utero or soon after birth affects asthma development later in life.

Methods

This was a natural experiment using the unanticipated pollution event by comparing the prevalence of asthma between those exposed to the Great Smog in utero or the first year of life with those conceived well before or after the incident and those residing outside the affected area at the time of the smog.

Measurements and main results

Prevalence of asthma during childhood (ages 0-15) and adulthood (ages >15) is analyzed for 2,916 respondents to the Life History portion of the English Longitudinal Study on Aging born from 1945 to 1955. Exposure to the Great Smog in the first year of life increases the likelihood of childhood asthma by 19.87 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.37-36.38). We also find suggestive evidence that early-life exposure led to a 9.53 percentage point increase (95% CI, -4.85 to 23.91) in the likelihood of adult asthma and exposure in utero led to a 7.91 percentage point increase (95% CI, -2.39 to 18.20) in the likelihood of childhood asthma.

Conclusions

These results are the first to link early-life pollution exposure to later development of asthma using a natural experiment, suggesting the legacy of the Great Smog is ongoing.