Work in Progress
Health Effects of the World’s Largest Artificial Afforestation Program
with Ruixue Li (Columbia University), intended JMP, draft available upon request
Abstract: Air pollution carried by the wind poses serious threats to public health in areas located downwind of pollution sources. In response, governments and organizations have adopted geoengineering strategies such as artificial afforestation to mitigate these adverse effects. Combining atmospheric dispersion modeling, quasi-experimental and structural approaches, this study evaluates the health benefits of the Three-North Shelterbelt Project (TNS) - the world’s largest government-funded afforestation initiative - which aims at restoring 356,123 km² of forests, equivalent to the area of Germany, across Northern China from 1978 to 2050. We compile a comprehensive dataset from multiple sources, including satellite-based land-use data, vegetation indices, air pollution measures, and administrative records on mortality and dust storm occurrences. Initial results suggest that a one km² increase in vegetated cover reduces PM2.5 concentrations by 0.03 μg/m³ and yields $728,073 of health benefits.
Electricity Price Shocks and Demand in Electric Vehicles: Evidence from Switzerland
with Armin Schmutzler (University of Zurich) and Benjamin Riva (University of Zurich)
Greenwashing in Denmark: Does Information Transparency Motivate Real Sustainable Behaviors in Manufacturing Firms?
with Daniela Scur (Cornell University) and Morten Bennedsen (University of Copenhagen)
Corporate Waste Governance and Responses to Environmental Regulations
with Hans B. Christensen (University of Chicago), Kasper Regenburg (Copenhagen Business School) and Morten Bennedsen (University of Copenhagen)
Localized Incentives for Charitable Giving to Environmental Public Goods: A Randomized Experiment
Publication
Troesken, W., Tynan, N., & Yang, Y. (2021). What are the health benefits of a constant water supply? Evidence from London, 1860–1910. Explorations in Economic History, 81, 101402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2021.101402
Abstract: What are the benefits of moving from intermittent water delivery (which limits user access to less than 24 hours per day) to constant service? To address this question, we study the transition from intermittent to constant water supply in London. Between 1871 and 1910, the proportion of London households with access to a constant water supply (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) rose from less than 20 to 100 percent. Idiosyncratic delays in the negotiation process between companies and property owners generated random variation in the timing of the transition across London districts. Exploiting this variation, we find that a one percentage point increase in a local population with access to constant service decreased deaths from waterborne diseases by as much as 0.4 percent and explains approximately a fifth of the late nineteenth century decline in waterborne disease mortality. Results are robust to the inclusion of controls for population density, concerns regarding the reporting of cause-of-death, district-specific time trends, district demographics and spatial autocorrelation.