ABSTRACT

The intermediate-sized cities of southern Chile experience days of high pollution levels every winter due to the use of wood-burning stoves. Several studies have analysed the factors that hinder energy transition and the social acceptance of measures to improve air quality, the consequences of which are disturbing. However, they have mainly focused on health issues without considering the social impacts of air pollution. This study aims to assess whether exposure to outdoor air pollution is associated with school absenteeism. We analysed the records of approx. 5,000 students in the fourth grade from 25 schools in five cities in southern Chile (2010–2017). Using a fixed-effects model and applying it to the school level, we were able to estimate the effect of air pollution on absenteeism from school after controlling for the effects of individual characteristics. Previous studies have found that independent of air pollution, students from low-income families have a higher absenteeism rate. Our findings suggest that as air pollution worsens, pupils from middle and high-income households are also more likely to miss school days. We argue that this is, presumably, because high-income families are able to develop protective behaviour such as bringing their children to the doctor or keeping them at home on highly polluted days.

摘要

智利南部的中型城市由于使用柴火炉而在每个冬季遭受高污染的日子。几项研究分析了阻碍能源过渡的因素，以及社会对改善空气质量的措施的接受程度，这些后果令人不安。但是，他们主要关注健康问题，而没有考虑空气污染的社会影响。这项研究旨在评估暴露于室外空气污染是否与学校旷课有关。我们分析了大约的记录。智利南部五个城市的25所学校的5,000名四年级学生（2010-2017年）。使用固定效果模型并将其应用于学校级别，在控制了个人特征的影响之后，我们能够从学校估算出空气污染对缺勤的影响。先前的研究发现，与空气污染无关，来自低收入家庭的学生的缺勤率更高。我们的发现表明，随着空气污染的加剧，来自中高收入家庭的学生也更可能缺课。我们认为这可能是因为高收入家庭能够发展保护性行为，例如将孩子带到医生那里或在污染严重的日子将他们留在家里。来自中高收入家庭的学生也更可能缺课。我们认为这可能是因为高收入家庭能够形成保护性行为，例如将孩子带到医生那里或在污染严重的日子将他们留在家里。来自中高收入家庭的学生也更可能缺课。我们认为这可能是因为高收入家庭能够形成保护性行为，例如将孩子带到医生那里或在污染严重的日子将他们留在家里。