The Effects of Air Pollution on Teenagers' Cognitive Performance: Evidence from School Leaving Examination in Poland

TL;DR

This study investigates how short-term air pollution impacts teenagers' exam performance in Poland, revealing that increased particulate matter reduces scores, especially among high-ability students, with localized measurements providing precise estimates.

Contribution

It uniquely uses localized hourly air pollution data and fixed effects to precisely estimate the short-term effects of air pollution on exam results, highlighting differential impacts across student ability levels.

Findings

A one standard deviation increase in PM2.5 and PM10 decreases exam scores by 0.07-0.08 standard deviations.

Localized air pollution measures improve the precision of effect estimates.

High-ability students are more affected by air pollution disturbances.

Abstract

Random disturbances such as air pollution may affect cognitive performance, which, particularly in high-stakes settings, may have severe consequences for an individual's productivity and well-being. This paper examines the short-term effects of air pollution on school leaving exam results in Poland. I exploit random variation in air pollution between the days on which exams are held across three consecutive school years. I aim to capture this random variation by including school and time fixed effects. The school-level panel data is drawn from a governmental program where air pollution is continuously measured in the schoolyard. This localized hourly air pollution measure is a unique feature of my study, which increases the precision of the estimated effects. In addition, using distant and aggregated air pollution measures allows me for the comparison of the estimates in space and time. The findings suggest that a one standard deviation increase in the concentration of particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 decreases students' exam scores by around 0.07-0.08 standard deviations. The magnitude and significance of these results depend on the location and timing of the air pollution readings, indicating the importance of the localized air pollution measure and the distinction between contemporaneous and lingering effects. Further, air pollution effects gradually increase in line with the quantiles of the exam score distribution, suggesting that high-ability students are more affected by the random disturbances caused by air pollution.