TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Mouganie, Pierre
AU  - Ajeeb, Ruba
AU  - Hoekstra, Mark
        TI  - The Effect of Open-Air Waste Burning on Infant Health: Evidence from Government Failure in Lebanon
        PY  - 2020/Mar/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 13036
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp13036
        AB  - An estimated 40 percent of the world's garbage is burned in open-air fires, which are responsible for as much as half of the global emissions of some pollutants. However, there is little evidence on the health consequences of open-air waste burning. In this paper, we estimate the effect of in utero exposure to open-air waste burning on birth outcomes. We do so by examining the consequences of the Lebanese garbage crisis of 2015, which led to an abrupt, unanticipated increase in waste burning in residential neighborhoods in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. 
To identify effects, we exploit variation in exposure across neighborhoods before and after the crisis. Results indicate exposure had large impacts on birth outcomes; in utero exposure to at least one open-air waste burn increased premature births by 4 percentage points (50%) and low birth weight by 5 to 8 percentage points (80 - 120%). Given previous research documenting the long-run effects of prenatal shocks on adult health, human capital, and labor market outcomes, this suggests open-air waste burning imposes significant costs on populations worldwide.
        KW  - open-air waste burning
KW  - in utero pollution exposure
KW  - prenatal health
        ER  -