The Effect Of Air Pollution On Labor Productivity

Air pollution has profound influence on human society,including inducing disease,reducing labor market outcome and human capital,and affecting emotion,etc.Air pollution can affect labor productivity by impairing workers’ physical health,mental health,and cognitive skills.This paper first establishes a theoretical framework for the effect of air pollution on labor productivity based on the utility model,and then tests the theoretical hypothesis through empirical study.Using a unique set of data from the express delivery company,labor productivity is measured by the number of packages a courier delivers per day.By matching high-frequency micro-individual labor productivity data with daily air pollution data,this paper establishes the causal relationship between air pollution and labor productivity.The main findings of this paper are as follows: First,air pollution significantly reduces the labor productivity of couriers.A 10 units increase in AQI is associated with 2.2% loss of the average labor productivity.Labor productivity is decreased by 1.8% when ozone concentration is increased by 10 μg/m3.Second,the effect of air pollution is non-linear.When it is heavily polluted,the damage from air pollution increases dramatically.Third,those who are local and deliver less packages per day are less sensitive to air pollution.Fourth,in the short term,as the time of exposure to air pollution increases,the damage from air pollution continues to accumulate.However,in the long run,the couriers’ sensitivities to air quality decrease if they live in areas where air pollution is more serious.This paper is the first study that examines the effect of air pollution on individual labor productivity in the express delivery industry,helping to understand the productivity loss of workers with long term exposure to outdoor air pollution from a micro perspective.Expanding the research of the relationship between air pollution and labor productivity to the service sector which accounts for a larger part in modern economy also helps to understand the adverse effect of air pollution on economic growth.Improving air quality will be beneficial to the improvement of labor productivity and the long-term healthy development of the economy.This research provides more evidence for the necessity of air regulation policies,and also provides some suggestions for the express industry sector to improve their labor productivity.