Towards a fuller assessment of the economic benefits of reducing air pollution from fossil fuel combustion: Per-case monetary estimates for children's health outcomes.

CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first time that the child-specific health outcomes of preterm birth, low birth weight, asthma, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and IQ reduction have been systematically valued and presented in one place. This is an important addition to the body of health-related valuation literature as these outcomes have substantial economic costs that are not considered in most assessments of the benefits of air pollution and climate mitigation policies. In general, however, the available per-case estimates presented here did not incorporate the broad societal and long-term costs and are likely underestimates. Although our context has been air pollution and climate policies, the per-case monetary estimates presented here can be applied to other environmental exposures. Fuller assessments of health benefits to children and their corresponding economic gains will improve decision-making on environmental policy. PMID: 31838408 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Environmental Research - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Environ Res Source Type: research