Air Pollution and Life Expectancy

This article explores the effect of air pollution on life expectancy. While prior studies heavily supported the link between long-term exposure to air pollution and harmful effects on health, most are based on single-country data. The objective of this article is to fill the gap in the literature by conducting a cross-country analysis. It evaluates the effect of average air pollution on life expectancy across 111 countries between 2010 and 2015. The additional country-specific control variables that are used include GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita, percentage of people with access to water, population density, health care expenditure (in terms of GDP), and the GINI index (a measure of inequality). This study finds a negative association between average exposure to air pollution and life expectancy. Specifically, it is estimated that for every additional mean microgram per cubic meter of PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5 air pollution exposure, life expectancy declines by 0.04 years on average