Impact of Air Pollution (PM2.5) on Child Mortality: Evidence from Sixteen Asian Countries

Abstract

Air pollution in Asian countries represents one of the biggest health threats given the varied levels of economic and population growth in the recent past. The quantification of air pollution (PM2.5) vis à vis health problems has important policy implications in tackling its health effects. This paper investigates the relationship between air pollution (PM2.5) and child mortality in sixteen Asian countries using panel data from 2000 to 2017. We adopt a two-stage least squares approach that exploits variations in PM2.5 attributable to economic growth in estimating the effect on child mortality. We find that a one-unit annual increase in PM2.5 leads to a nearly 14.5% increase in the number of children dying before the age of five, suggesting the severity of the effects of particulate matter (PM2.5) on health outcomes in sixteen Asian countries considered in this study. The results of this study suggest the need for strict policy interventions by governments in Asian countries to reduce PM2.5 concentration alongside environment-friendly policies for economic growth.