The Effect of Leaded Gasoline on Elderly Mortality: Evidence from Regulatory Exemptions
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Alex Hollingsworth
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Ivan Rudik
- American Economic Journal: Economic Policy (Forthcoming)
Abstract
Leaded gasoline is still used globally for aviation and automotive racing. Exploiting
regulatory exemptions and a novel quasi-experiment, we find that leaded gasoline use
in racing increases ambient lead, elevated blood lead rates, and elderly mortality. The
mortality estimates indicate that each gram of lead added to gasoline exceeds $1,100
in damages. Our setting allows us to rule out potential confounders, such as correlated
pollutants or socioeconomic status. We provide the first causal estimates linking adult
mortality to leaded gasoline, highlight the value of banning on-road leaded gasoline,
and present policy-relevant cost estimates at the lowest ambient levels to date.
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