Superfund Cleanups and Infant Health

Janet Currie, Michael Greenstone, Enrico Moretti

NBER Working Paper No. 16844
Issued in March 2011
NBER Program(s):   CH   EEE   HC   HE   PE

We are the first to examine the effect of Superfund cleanups on infant health rather than focusing on proximity to a site. We study singleton births to mothers residing within 5km of a Superfund site between 1989-2003 in five large states. Our “difference in differences” approach compares birth outcomes before and after a site clean-up for mothers who live within 2,000 meters of the site and those who live between 2,000- 5,000 meters of a site. We find that proximity to a Superfund site before cleanup is associated with a 20 to 25% increase in the risk of congenital anomalies.

(345 K)

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Published: Janet Currie & Michael Greenstone & Enrico Moretti, 2011. "Superfund Cleanups and Infant Health," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 435-41, May.

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Acknowledgments

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