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HAVE VEHICLE REGISTRATION RESTRICTIONS IMPROVED URBAN AIR QUALITY IN JAPAN?
Author(s) -
Nishitateno Shuhei,
Burke Paul J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
contemporary economic policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.454
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1465-7287
pISSN - 1074-3529
DOI - 10.1111/coep.12457
Subject(s) - metropolitan area , air quality index , difference in differences , agricultural economics , business , environmental science , geography , economics , econometrics , meteorology , archaeology
About 2.6 million noncompliant vehicles were removed from designated metropolitan areas in Japan after the introduction of vehicle registration restrictions under the 1992 Automobile NOx Control Law. Based on a difference‐in‐differences framework and using a monitor‐level panel dataset for the period January 1981–December 2015, we find that the intervention led to a 3%–6% reduction in the monthly mean ambient concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) in the treated areas. Back‐of‐the‐envelope calculations identify benefits equal to about US$104 million as a result of reduced mortality from asthma. ( JEL Q53, Q58)