Fetal Pollution Exposure, Cognitive Ability, and Gender-specific Parental Investment
We examine how prenatal exposure to air pollution interacts with gender-biased parental investments to shape long-run cognitive performance. Using nationally representative survey data from China, we show that fetal PM2.5 exposure significantly reduces cognitive ability for women, particularly among those with brothers. Our evidence suggests that the family investment channel operates primarily through education rather than health, with gender-biased educational resource allocation compounding negative outcomes for females. Specifically, conditional on the same level of fetal PM2.5 exposure, females receive less homework assistance from their families and attain lower levels of education.
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Copy CitationXin Zhang, Yixuan Wang, Xingyi Hu, and Xi Chen, "Fetal Pollution Exposure, Cognitive Ability, and Gender-specific Parental Investment," NBER Working Paper 35591 (2026), https://doi.org/10.3386/w35591.Download Citation
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