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Air quality and error quantity: pollution and performance in a high-skilled, quality-focused occupation

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 11:52 authored by James Archsmith, Anthony Heyes, Soodeh Saberian
We provide the first evidence that short-term exposure to air pollution affects the work performance of a group of highly-skilled, quality-focused employees. We repeatedly observe the decision-making of individual professional baseball umpires, quasi-randomly assigned to varying air quality across time and space. Unique characteristics of this setting combined with high-frequency data disentangle effects of multiple pollutants and identify previously under-explored acute effects. We find a 1 ppm increase in 3-hour CO causes an 11.5% increase in the propensity of umpires to make incorrect calls and a 10 mg/m3 increase in 12-hour PM2.5 causes a 2.6% increase. We control carefully for a variety of potential confounders and results are supported by robustness and falsification checks.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists

ISSN

2333-5955

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Department affiliated with

  • Economics Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-02-01

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-12-12

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-02-01

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