Document Type
Project
Publication Date
6-11-2021
Instructor(s)
Sahan Dissanayake and Grace Arnold
Journal of Economic Literature Classification Codes
I18, Q53, Q58
Subjects
COVID-19 (Disease) -- Social aspects, COVID-19 (Disease) -- Environmental aspects
Abstract
Using a difference-in-differences approach, I test whether the U.S. COVID-19 lockdowns influenced air pollution levels. I hypothesize that the halt in human mobility stemming from lockdowns caused transportation sector activity to decrease, leading to a reduction in related pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, and NO2. I investigate whether counties with strict lockdown policies experienced greater improvements in air pollution relative to before the lockdowns than counties with lenient lockdown policies. I use lockdown stringency data from the University of Oxford to identify strict versus lenient counties, and data from the Environmental Protection Agency to capture air pollution outcomes. The main results provide insufficient evidence of differential air pollution levels between the strict and lenient groups. An examination of only metropolitan counties produces similar results, suggesting stricter lockdowns may not be associated with lower pollution levels, even in urban areas where transportation sector activity is typically elevated.
Rights
© 2021 Ashlyn B. Cenicola
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
DOI
10.15760/econ-masterpapers.02
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/39190
Citation Details
Cenicola, Ashlyn B., "COVID-19 Lockdowns and Air Quality in the United States" (2021). Economics Masters Project Research Papers. 2.
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/39190