This study explores the adverse impact of air pollution, caused by emissions from brick kilns, on the children’s cognitive ability and physical health. A survey of children between the age of 5 and 12 years was conducted in the Peshawar district of KP province of Pakistan. The concentrations of particulate matters (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) were found to be higher in areas within 3 km radius of brick kilns (treatment group) compared to those that are outside of this defined radius (comparison group). By employing propensity score matching method, the study found that exposure to brick kiln pollution has significant negative effect on children’s cognitive ability and physical health. These results advocate that, in addition to increasing the direct health cost, brick kiln pollution also has adverse long-term welfare consequences through indirect and unobservable effects.

这项研究探讨了砖窑产生的废气对儿童认知能力和身体健康的不利影响。在巴基斯坦KP省的白沙瓦地区对5至12岁的儿童进行了调查。颗粒物浓度（PM ₁₀和PM _2.5）被发现在砖窑半径3 km内的区域（处理组）要比在此定义半径之外的区域（比较组）高。通过使用倾向得分匹配法，研究发现暴露于砖窑污染对儿童的认知能力和身体健康具有显着的负面影响。这些结果表明，除了增加直接的健康成本外，砖窑污染还通过间接和不可观察的影响而对长期福利产生不利影响。