Ambient air pollution and consumer spending: Evidence from Spain.

ABSTRACT: Research on the economic burden of air pollution has focused primarily on its macroeconomic impact. However, as some studies have found that air pollution can lead to avoidance behavior-for example, reducing the time spent outdoors-we hypothesize that it can also influence consumer spending activity. We combine high frequency data on ozone and fine particulate pollution with daily consumer spending in brick-and-mortar retail in 129 postal codes in Spain during 2014 to estimate the association between the two. Using a linear fixed effects model, we find that a 1-standard deviation increase in ozone concentration (20.97 μg/m3) is associated with 3.9 percent decrease in consumer spending (95% CI: -0.066, -0.012; p<0.01). The association of fine particulate matter with consumer spending is, ho

SUBMITTER: Brandt J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10807777 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature