Medical researchers and health economists have come to realize that exposure to pollution externalities have costs. Economists have developed sophisticated methods to estimate these costs.  Our next speaker, David Simon, will talk about his research in this area.

The articles below will get you started on the economic literature on this topic. Your paper should construct an argument about which kinds of policies might work best to improve health and economic outcomes in the life-cycle context. Alternatively, you might think about the differences between the way economists approach these kinds of questions and the way medical researchers tend to approach them. What issues do economists confront that biologists and medical researchers often do not?

Almond, Douglas, Janet Currie, and Valentina Duque. 2018. "Childhood Circumstances and Adult Outcomes: Act II," Journal of Economic Literature 56 (4): 1360-1446.

Anderson, Michael L. 2015. "As the Wind Blows: The Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution on Mortality," NBER Working Paper No. 21578, September.

Due April 14.