Air pollution and manufacturing productivity: Understanding the roles of technology and adaptation
Journal of Development Economics · 2025 · [{"name": "Jamie Hansen-Lewis", "affiliation": ["Agricultural & Applied Economics Association"]}]
中文摘要
我分析了空气污染对印度制造业生产率的影响，考察技术与适应如何调节这一损害。利用企业面板数据和卫星反演的污染数据，我以风速作为空气污染的工具变量，估计了污染对生产率的影响。尽管劳动密集型行业表现出敏感性，但未发现有意义的平均效应。为解释这些模式，我提出一个模型，表明企业通过降低产出来适应以缓解污染损害，且行业的生产技术导致了这种异质性。应用该模型，我估计生产技术的劳动密集度每增加一个标准差，污染对生产率的负面影响就会增加0.6个百分点。研究结果表明，在受到不利影响的行业中，污染对利润的损害是平均水平的两倍；而当投入相对于企业可调整时保持固定，该损害要高出四倍。
• 空气污染对印度制造业生产率具有异质性效应。
• 空气污染降低了劳动密集型行业的生产率，但总体上并无有意义的影响。
• 企业随时间推移对空气污染的适应减轻了污染对利润的影响。
Abstract
I analyze the impact of air pollution on manufacturing productivity in India, examining how technology and adaptation influence the damages. Using firm panel and satellite-derived pollution data, I estimate the effect of pollution on productivity, with wind velocity serving as an instrument for air pollution. While sensitivity is detected among labor-intensive industries, no meaningful average effect is found. To explain these patterns, I present a model showing that firms adapt by lowering output to mitigate pollution damages and that industries’ production technology contributes to heterogeneity. Applying the model, I estimate that a one standard deviation increase in the labor intensity of production technology results in a 0.6 percentage point greater negative impact of pollution on productivity. The findings imply that the damages of pollution to profits are twice as high among adversely affected industries than the average and four times higher when inputs remain fixed relative to when they adapt. • Air pollution has heterogeneous effects on manufacturing productivity in India. • Air pollution lowers productivity in labor-intensive industries but not overall. • Firm adaption to air pollution over time abates effect of pollution on profits.