Seminars

Thursday, August 29 th 2024

Clara Berestycki (Columbia University) present “Behavioral adaptation to wildfire-induced air pollution”, joint with Keith Chen (UCLA Anderson)

Abstract:

The intensity and frequency of wildfires and their associated toxic plumes are increasing in the United States, a dynamic in part driven by global warming. In this paper, we use novel, high-frequency mobility data to explore individual behavioral responses to large air pollution shocks caused by wildfires in California. Using geo-localized cell-phone pings, we measure individual time use throughout the day. Leveraging this unique dataset, we can estimate individual dose-response functions to wildfire-induced PM 2.5 air pollution for different metrics. As expected, time spent at work and outside decreases with pollution, and conversely time spent at home and inside increases with air pollution, with some non-linearities for extreme pollution levels. We benchmark the magnitude of this response by estimating similar dose-response functions for rainfall and find that the increase in time spent at home during an extreme pollution event is equivalent to approximately four times that of a rainy day. We also explore heterogeneity in behavioral responses to air pollution across demographic groups. Building on the growing literature documenting inequalities in climate adaptation, we find suggestive evidence that Black and Hispanic residents adapt less to air pollution shocks than White residents.