How Air Pollution Creates Economic Inequality – with Jonathan Colmer

In this episode, Jonathan Colmer explores the intergenerational effects of environmental pollution on economic opportunity. He tells us about his work as co-founder of the Environmental Inequality Lab where he uses census data to determine the link between exposure to air pollution pre-birth and in early childhood of an individual and the economic outcomes of their offspring.

Working Paper:
“Air Pollution and Economic Opportunity in the United States”, with John Voorheis and Brennan Williams

Most recent version (July 2022): https://drive.google.com/file/d/19zLlSTaSJgs1c3FSHo2_l1xUmgSBJuq2/view

Recommendations:
“From the Inside Out: The Fight for Environmental Justice Within Government Agencies” (2019) by Jill Lindsey Harrison

Banzhaf, Spencer, Lala Ma, and Christopher Timmins. 2019. “Environmental Justice: The Economics of Race, Place, and Pollution.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33 (1): 185-208. DOI: 10.1257/jep.33.1.185

Currie, Janet, and Reed Walker. 2019. “What Do Economists Have to Say about the Clean Air Act 50 Years after the Establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33 (4): 3-26. DOI: 10.1257/jep.33.4.3