The Health Tradeoffs between Development and Pollution Open Access

Abstract

Abstract
The Health Tradeoffs between Development and Pollution
By Morgan J. Cichon
On a country level, development generally benefits human health by increasing the
quality of medical care, sanitation and other resources. However, there is also a negative
externality as development appears to be correlated with pollution, which is harmful to
human health. As a result, there is a tradeoff between developing and polluting. In this
paper, I evaluate the proposed health tradeoff using country-level panel data on CO2
emissions to measure pollution, and infant mortality and life expectancy to measure
health. The results show that development increases pollution and positively affects both
measures of health. On the other hand, pollution increases infant mortality but has no
significant effect on life expectancy. Taking into account all partial effects, though, the
health benefits from development seem to outweigh the costs from pollution.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
Background ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Data ................................................................................................................................................................. 5
A. Pollution ................................................................................................................................................. 5
B. Development ........................................................................................................................................... 6
C. Health and Education ............................................................................................................................ 7
Empirical Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 8
A. Pollution Model ...................................................................................................................................... 8
B. Health Model ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 11
A. Data Trends .......................................................................................................................................... 11
B. Factors Affecting Pollution .................................................................................................................. 12
C. Health Tradeoffs .................................................................................................................................. 16
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 21
References ..................................................................................................................................................... 24

Figures and Tables

Figure 1. Global Trends in Pollution and GDP (1960-2008) ........................................................................ 26
Figure 2. Pollution and GDP Trends for Developing Countries (1960-2008) ............................................... 27
Figure 3. Pollution and GDP Trends for Developed Countries (1960-2008) ................................................ 27
Figure 4. Comparison of Total Emissions for Developing and Developed Countries................................... 28
Figure 5. Regional Pollution as a Percentage of Combined CO2 Emissions in 2008 .................................... 28
Figure 6. Total Pollution in Europe (1955-2008) .......................................................................................... 29
Figure 7. Total Pollution in Asia (1955-2008) .............................................................................................. 29
Figure 8. Total Pollution in North America (1955-2008) .............................................................................. 30
Figure 9. Total Pollution in South America (1955-2008) .............................................................................. 30
Figure 10. Total Pollution in Africa (1955-2008) ......................................................................................... 31
Figure 11. Total Pollution in the Middle East (1955-2008) .......................................................................... 31
Figure 12. Global Trends in GDP and Life Expectancy (1960-2008) ........................................................... 32
Figure 13. Global Trends in Pollution and Life Expectancy (1960-2008) .................................................... 32

Table 1. Summary Statistics .......................................................................................................................... 33
Table 2. Country Factors Associated with Pollution from 1960 to 2005 ...................................................... 34
Table 3. Comparison of Pollution Factors for Developing and Developed Countries (1960-2005) ............. 35
Table 4. Factors Contributing to Regional Pollution Trends (1960-2005) .................................................... 36
Table 5. Factors Affecting Health as Measured by Life Expectancy and Infant Mortality (1960-2005) ...... 37
Table 6. Comparison of Factors Affecting Health in Developing and Developed Countries (1960-2005) ... 38

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Economics
Degree	BS
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Economics, General
Keyword	emissions pollution health development
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Francis, Andrew, Emory University
Committee Members	Carlson, Leonard A, Emory University Morkin, Tracy, Emory University

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