Seminario virtual 43: Adaptation and mitigation of pollution: evidence from air quality warnings

SANDRA AGUILAR-GOMEZ is an incoming postdoctoral scholar at the Center for Global Transformation (CGT) at UC San Diego, and next year (Fall 2022)  will join Universidad de los Andes as an Assistant Professor of Economics.  She holds a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development from Columbia University. Her main research interests focus on understanding the consequences of environmental change and the challenges governments face in implementing policies in contexts with underlying structural inequalities or weak institutions. Likewise, she also conducts research in gender issues for developing countries.

Resumen del documento: Standard economic analyses of environmental policy focus on either reducing pollution externalities through mitigation or reducing the harms from exposure by encouraging adaptation. In practice, these issues are both critical, particularly when looking at the health effects of local air pollutants, which can be acute, and policymakers often pair information provision with short and long-run mitigation actions. This paper studies one widely used example of such a policy--- air quality alerts. I explore whether, in the context of the Mexico City air quality alert program, information policy is more effective when paired with mitigation. I find that the policy did not improve air quality or health outcomes until the mitigation component, which limited transport emissions, was introduced. I also use sensor-level traffic data, geo-tagged accident reports, and search data as a measure of awareness of the policy to unveil the mechanisms through which considerable short-run improvements in air quality and health are achieved after issuing an alert. I find that the alert reduces car usage even before the driving restrictions enter into place, suggesting that, due to an increased awareness of pollution, people reduce their trips.

Hora: 2:00 p. m. 
Idioma de la exposición: Español

Una vez realizada la inscripción, el día 16 de abril recibirá un correo con el vinculo a la plataforma donde se llevará a cabo el seminario y su respectiva clave de acceso.