Tanaka Shinsuke
Tufts University, United States.
J Health Econ. 2015 Jul;42:90-103. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2015.02.004. Epub 2015 Mar 6.
This study explores the impact of environmental regulations in China on infant mortality. In 1998, the Chinese government imposed stringent air pollution regulations, in one of the first large-scale regulatory attempts in a developing country. We find that the infant mortality rate fell by 20 percent in the treatment cities designated as "Two Control Zones." The greatest reduction in mortality occurred during the neonatal period, highlighting an important pathophysiologic mechanism, and was largest among infants born to mothers with low levels of education. The finding is robust to various alternative hypotheses and specifications. Further, a falsification test using deaths from causes unrelated to air pollution supports these findings.
本研究探讨了中国环境法规对婴儿死亡率的影响。1998年，中国政府实施了严格的空气污染法规，这是发展中国家首批大规模监管尝试之一。我们发现，被指定为“两控区”的处理城市的婴儿死亡率下降了20%。死亡率下降幅度最大的是新生儿期，这突出了一个重要的病理生理机制，并且在母亲受教育程度较低的婴儿中下降幅度最大。这一发现对各种替代假设和设定都具有稳健性。此外，一项使用与空气污染无关的死因进行的证伪检验支持了这些发现。
