Persico Claudia L, Johnson Kathryn R
Department of Public Administration and Policy, School of Public Affairs, American University and IZA, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC, 20016, USA.
Department of Public Administration and Policy, School of Public Affairs, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC, 20016, USA.
J Environ Econ Manage. 2021 May;107:102431. doi: 10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102431. Epub 2021 Feb 22.
The SARS-COV-2 virus, also known as the coronavirus, has spread around the world. A growing literature suggests that exposure to pollution can cause respiratory illness and increase deaths among the elderly. However, little is known about whether increases in pollution could cause additional or more severe infections from COVID-19, which typically manifests as a respiratory infection. During the pandemic, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled back enforcement of environmental regulation, causing an increase in pollution in counties with more TRI sites. We use the variation in pollution and a difference in differences design to estimate the effects of increased pollution on county-level COVID-19 deaths and cases. We find that counties with more Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) sites saw a 11.8 percent increase in pollution on average following the EPA's rollback of enforcement, compared to counties with fewer TRI sites. We also find that these policy-induced increases in pollution are associated with a 53 percent increase in cases and a 10.6 percent increase in deaths from COVID-19.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）病毒，也被称为冠状病毒，已在全球传播。越来越多的文献表明，接触污染会导致呼吸道疾病，并增加老年人的死亡人数。然而，对于污染增加是否会导致新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）更多或更严重的感染，人们知之甚少，COVID-19通常表现为呼吸道感染。在疫情期间，美国环境保护局（EPA）放松了环境法规的执行，导致拥有更多有毒物质排放清单（TRI）设施的县污染增加。我们利用污染的变化和双重差分设计来估计污染增加对县级COVID-19死亡和病例的影响。我们发现，与TRI设施较少的县相比，在EPA放松执法后，拥有更多TRI设施的县平均污染增加了11.8%。我们还发现，这些政策导致的污染增加与COVID-19病例增加53%和死亡增加10.6%有关。
