Air pollution and child health in Urban India

Description

A potential source of confounding in studies investigating the effect of indoor air pollution on child health is exposure to ambient air pollution. This paper examines this relationship by pairing city-level air pollution measures with child-level data from the National Family Health Survey (2005–06) for six cities in India. To address simultaneity in child health outcomes and potential endogeneity of city-level air pollution, the study employs a bivariate probit regression framework with city fixed effects. The findings show that an increase in ambient air pollution significantly raises child morbidity. In contrast, the type of cooking fuel used at home—a common proxy for indoor air pollution—is not a significant determinant of child morbidity once ambient air pollution and other child-, household- and city-level factors are controlled for. The results also highlight the importance of jointly modelling multiple child health outcomes to account for their interdependence. Overall, the study suggests that targeted reductions in ambient air pollution at the city level could play a crucial role in improving child health.

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Keywords

Ambient air pollution, Child health, Bivariate probit, Fixed effects, NFHS

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS