THE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON SCHOOL ABSENTEEISM, HEALTH, AND CRIME

Recent empirical research shows that air pollution harms student test scores, behavioral referrals, and attendance. However, the mechanism by which air pollution operates within schools to negatively affect student and teacher outcomes remains largely understudied. Furthermore, the existing literature has primarily focused on the effects of prolonged exposure to pollution on end-of-year test scores or total absence counts. This paper examines whether ambient air pollution influences student-by-day and teacher-by-day outcomes, including absences and disciplinary office referrals, using daily administrative data from a large urban school district in California between 2003 and 2020. Using wind direction as an instrument for daily pollution exposure, we find that a 1 μg/m3 increase in daily PM2.5 causes a 0.5% increase in full-day student absences and a 2.8% increase in office referrals in a three-day window. In addition, over three days, a 1 μg/m3 increase in daily causes a 1.2% increase in teacher absences due to illness. Importantly, the effects are driven by low-income, Black, Hispanic, and younger students.

The second chapter examines the impact of wildfire smoke plumes on hospital admissions among the homeless population in New York State. I find a significant association between the number of days a county is fully covered by wildfire smoke plumes and hospital admissions, particularly due to mental disorders and circulatory diseases. Robustness checks confirm the results across various specifications, highlighting the substantial health implications of wildfire-specific air pollution. These findings have significant policy implications, suggesting the need for targeted interventions, including specialized mental health services for the homeless, particularly in areas with poor air quality. Also, the results emphasize the importance of addressing the health impacts of wildfire-induced PM2.5 exposure on vulnerable populations in the face of climate change. The third chapter investigates the impact of air pollution on crime rates in New York City from 2006 to 2019, using daily fluctuations in local pollution caused by changes in wind direction as an instrumental variable. The analysis focuses on various subcategories of violent, property, and nonlethal crimes, and examines the heterogeneous effects of three levels of offenses: felony, misdemeanor, and violation/infraction. The results reveal a positive relationship between daily increases in PM 2.5 concentrations and aggregated nonlethal crimes and arson. Additionally, the study uncovers a nonlinear association between air pollution and crime rates, particularly when the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeds 100, a level considered harmful for sensitive groups. The findings remain robust across alternative specifications, including the addition of county-year fixed effects, day-month-year fixed effects, interactions of temperature and precipitation, and controlling for cloud cover. This study highlights the complex interplay between air pollution and crime, providing valuable insights for policymakers and law enforcement agencies in their efforts to improve public health and safety.