ABSTRACT

This study examines the causal impact of PM2.5 air pollution exposure on premature mortality in Southern European cities from 2010 to 2018. To address endogeneity, we leverage local variations in rainfall as a source of random variation in PM2.5 exposure. Using the Two-Sample Two-Stage Least Squares (TS2SLS) estimator to reconcile monitoring station-level and city-level data, our findings reveal a statistically significant increase in premature mortality caused by PM2.5. According to our preferred specification, a 1% increase in PM2.5 causes a 1.13% rise in the under-65 mortality rate and a 1.41% rise in the infant mortality rate. The results are robust to alternative specifications. The most affected populations are those residing in urban areas (relative to suburban areas) and individuals living in cities located in richer regions (as opposed to poorer ones).

JEL codes: I18, Q53, Q58.
Keywords: air pollution, PM2.5, cities, premature mortality, TS2SLS.
ISSN 2704-7407
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