College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.
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Item Essays on the Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health(2018) Ruiz-Tagle, Juan Cristobal; Williams, Roberton C; Agricultural and Resource Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)According to recent reports by The World Bank and the World Health Organization millions of people die every year because of exposure to ambient air pollution—the vast majority of them in developing countries (World Bank 2016; World Health Organization 2016). Policy makers throughout the developing world are starting to seriously address this issue by designing and implementing a battery of policies for reducing ambient air pollution. To weight the cost and benefits of these policies policy makers need estimates of the benefits of reducing ambient air pollution. In this dissertation I provide estimates of the benefits of air pollution reduction in terms of its effects on human health. I use data from Chile, a middle income country that in recent years experienced a period of rapid industrialization and economic growth—similar to the process that many developing economies are experiencing these days. I believe that estimates and methods from this dissertation can provide a valuable tool to aid policy makers in the developing world in their goals to reduce ambient air pollution. Chapter 1 examines the effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on infant mortality. Using state-of-the art techniques to identify causal effects and reduce possible bias due to measurement error in air pollution exposure, results from this chapter show significant effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on infant mortality. This effect is larger for infant mortality due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Chapter 2 examines the effect of exposure to ambient air pollution on urgent care visits for different age groups and across different types of urgent care visits. Using a novel strategy to identify causal effects, results from this chapter show a significant effect on respiratory urgent care visits and on cardiovascular and circulatory urgent care visits. This effect is larger for the elderly and for respiratory urgent care visits due to pneumonia and lower respiratory diseases. Chapter 3 examines the effect of exposure to ambient air pollution on the probability of a pregnancy ending in a stillbirth delivery. Results from this chapter show a significant effect of acute exposure to air pollution on the probability of stillbirth delivery. This effect is larger for those stillbirths that are due to hypoxia.Item ESSAYS ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA(2013) Malik, Kabir; Cropper, Maureen; Agricultural and Resource Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Expanding electricity generation is driving economic activity in the developing world. Increasing energy demand, largely met through the combustion of coal and natural gas, poses significant trade-offs between development objectives and environmental well-being. In this dissertation I examine the Indian electricity sector. Chapter 1 studies the impact of regulatory changes affecting state-owned electricity utilities on the efficiency of coal-fired power plants. The results indicate that the unbundling of generation companies from state-owned utilities improved operating reliability at coal-fired power plants. The improvements were, however, restricted to states that restructured their electricity utilities prior to the Electricity Act of 2003. The results also show that the reforms did not result in an improvement in thermal efficiency or capital utilization at these plants. Chapter 2 estimates the health impacts from PM2.5, SO2 and NOx emissions from coal-fired plants in India. I derive estimates of the total premature mortality impact from each plant in my sample associated with each of the three pollutants. I find that the majority of the impact, about 70%, is due to SO2 emissions--a pollutant currently unregulated in India due to the low sulfur content of Indian coal. I also conduct a cost benefit analysis of two pollution control options currently available in India--coal washing and the installation of an flue-gas desulfurization unit (FGD). The results from the case study show that both options pass the cost-benefit test using reasonable estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) for India. Chapter 3 more thoroughly examines the benefits and costs of FGD retrofit at coal-fired power plants in India. Using emissions estimates and output from a medium-range Lagrangian puff (atmospheric) model I estimate the net benefits of FGD installation for a sample of power plants. The results show that a substantial proportion of power plants pass the cost-benefit test for an FGD installation using reasonable estimates of the VSL for India. The results indicate a substantial scope for FGD installation to control SO2 emissions in the Indian power sector and suggest that it should be considered as a viable option for pollution control policy.