蝌蚪网 Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
The Productivity Consequences of Pollution-Induced Migration in China
蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 17,
no. 2, April 2025
(pp. 184–224)
Abstract
We quantify how pollution affects aggregate productivity and welfare in spatial equilibrium. We show that skilled workers in China emigrate away from polluted cities. These patterns are evident under various empirical specifications, such as when instrumenting for pollution using upwind power plants, or thermal inversions. Pollution changes the spatial distribution of skilled and unskilled workers, and wage returns by location. We quantify the loss in aggregate productivity due to this re-sorting by estimating a spatial equilibrium model. Counterfactual simulations show that reducing pollution increases productivity through spatial re-sorting by approximately as much as the direct health benefits of clean air.Citation
Khanna, Gaurav, Wenquan Liang, Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, and Ran Song. 2025. "The Productivity Consequences of Pollution-Induced Migration in China." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics 17 (2): 184–224. DOI: 10.1257/app.20220655Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
- P25 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
- P28 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Natural Resources; Energy; Environment
- Q53 Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
- R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics