Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T08:46:00.549Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Atmospheric Pollution, Health, and Height in Late Nineteenth Century Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2018

Roy E. Bailey ,
Timothy J. Hatton  and
Kris Inwood
Roy E. Bailey*
Affiliation:
Honorary Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.
Timothy J. Hatton*
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Economics, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK, and Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Kris Inwood*
Affiliation:
Professor, Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1E 3C9Canada.
*
E-mail: rbailey@essex.ac.uk
E-mail: hatton@essex.ac.uk (corresponding author)
E-mail: kinwood@uoguelph.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In nineteenth century Britain atmospheric pollution from coal-fired industrialization was on the order of 50 times higher than today. We examine the effects of these emissions on child development by analysing the heights on enlistment during WWI of men born in England and Wales in the 1890s. We find a strong negative relationship between adult heights and the coal intensity of the districts in which these men were observed as children in the 1901 census. The subsequent decline in atmospheric pollution likely contributed to the long-term improvement in health and increase in height.

Type
Article
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 78 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 1210 - 1247
Copyright
© 2018 The Economic History Association. All rights reserved. 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

We are grateful to Jonathan Chapman, Humphrey Southall, Adam Bonnycastle, and the U.K. Data Archive for help with data sources, and to Jeremy van Dijk and Danielle van Wagner for able research assistance. We have benefited from useful comments from Walker Hanlon, John Tang, and Zachary Ward, as well as from participants at seminars at Monash University, Australian National University, and NHH Bergen, a workshop at the London School of Economics, and the World Congress of Cliometrics at Strasbourg. We much appreciate guidance from the editor and two anonymous referees. Hatton gratefully acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council, Discovery Project DP140103603.

References

Air Quality Expert Group. Particulate Matter in the United Kingdom. London: UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2005.Google Scholar
Almond, Douglas, Edlund, Lena, and Palme, Marten. “Chernobyl’s Subclinical Legacy: Prenatal Exposure to Radioactive Fallout and School Outcomes in Sweden.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 124, no. 4 (2009): 1729–1772.Google Scholar
Anderson, Michael L. “As the Wind Blows: The Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution on Mortality.” NBER Working Paper 21578, Cambridge, MA, September 2015.Google Scholar
Anderson, H. Ross. “Air Pollution and Mortality: A History.” Atmospheric Environment 43, no. 1 (2009): 142–152.Google Scholar
Aplin, Karen L. “Smoke Emissions from Industrial Western Scotland in 1859 Inferred from Lord Kelvin’s Atmospheric Electricity Measurements.” Atmospheric Environment 50 (2012): 373–376.Google Scholar
Arthi, Vellore. “‘The Dust Was Long in Settling’: Human Capital and the Lasting Impact of the American Dust Bowl.” Journal of Economic History 78, no. 1 (2018): 196–230.Google Scholar
Bailey, Roy E., Hatton, Timothy J., and Inwood, Kris. “Health, Height and the Household at the Turn of the Twentieth Century.” Economic History Review 69, no. 1 (2016): 35–53.Google Scholar
Baines, Dudley E. Migration in a Mature Economy: Emigration and Internal Migration in England and Wales, 1861–1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.Google Scholar
Bateson, Thomas F., and Schwartz, Joel. “Children’s Response to Air Pollutants.” Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 71, no. 3 (2008): 238–243.Google Scholar
Beach, Brian, and Hanlon, W. Walker. “Coal Smoke and Mortality in an Early Industrial Economy.” Economic Journal (2018 forthcoming).Google Scholar
Black, Sandra E., Devereux, Paul J., and Salvanes, Kjell G.. “From the Cradle to the Labor Market? The Effect of Birth Weight on Adult Outcomes.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 122, no. 1 (2007): 409–439.Google Scholar
Bobak, Martin, Richards, Marcus, and Wadsworth, Michael. “Relation between Children’s Height and Outdoor Air Pollution from Coal-Burning Sources in the British 1946 Birth Cohort.” International Archives of Occupational Environmental Health 77, no. 6 (2004): 383–386.Google Scholar
Bodenhorn, Howard, Guinnane, Timothy W., and Mroz, Thomas A.. “Problems of Sample-Selection Bias in the Historical Heights Literature: A Theoretical and Econometric Analysis.” Yale Economics Working Paper No. 114, New Haven, CT, 2013.Google Scholar
Bodenhorn, Howard, Guinnane, Timothy W., and Mroz, Thomas A.. “Sample-Selection Biases and the Industrialization Puzzle.” Journal of Economic History 77, no. 1 (2017): 171–207.Google Scholar
Boyer, George R., and Hatton, Timothy J.. “Migration and Labour Market Integration in Late Nineteenth-Century England and Wales.” Economic History Review 50, no. 4 (1997): 697–734.Google Scholar
Bozzoli, Carlos, Deaton, Angus S., and Quintana-Domeque, Climent. “Adult Height and Childhood Disease.” Demography 76, no. 4 (2009): 647–669.Google Scholar
Brimblecombe, Peter, and Bowler, Catherine. “The History of Air Pollution in York, England.” Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association 42, no. 12 (1992): 1562–1566.Google Scholar
Burnett, Richard T., Pope, C. Arden, Ezzati, Majid, et al. “An Integrated Risk Function for Estimating the Global Burden of Disease Attributable to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposure.” Environmental Health Perspectives 122, no. 4 (2014): 397–403.Google Scholar
Cain, Louis P., and Rotella, Elyce. “Death and Spending: Urban Mortality and Municipal Expenditure on Sanitation.” Annales de Démographie Historique 1, no. 101 (2001): 139–154.Google Scholar
Case, Anne, and Paxson, Christina. “Causes and Consequences of Early-Life Health.” Demography 47, Suppl. (2010): S65–S85.Google Scholar
Case, Anne, and Paxson, Christina. “The Long Reach of Childhood Health and Circumstance: Evidence from the Whitehall II Study.” Economic Journal 121, no. 554 (Features) (2011): F183–F204.Google Scholar
Cesur, Resul, Tekin, Erdal, and Ulker, Aydogan. “Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure.” Economic Journal 127, no. 600 (2017): 330–362.Google Scholar
Chapman, Jonathan. “Local Government Investment in Urban Infrastructure and Mortality Decline in England and Wales, 1861–1900.” Paper presented to the Economic History Society Conference, Cambridge, MA, 2016.Google Scholar
Chay, Kenneth Y., and Greenstone, Michael. “Air Quality, Infant Mortality, and the Clean Air Act of 1970.” NBER Working Paper No. 10053, Cambridge, MA, October 2003.Google Scholar
Clay, Karen, and Troesken, Werner. “Did Frederick Brodie Discover the World’s First Environmental Kuznets Curve? Coal Smoke and the Rise and Fall of the London Fog.” In The Economics of Climate Change: Adaptations Past and Present, edited by Gary Libecap and Richard H. Steckel, 281–309. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2011.Google Scholar
Clay, Karen, Lewis, Joshua, and Severnini, Edson. “Canary in a Coal Mine: Infant Mortality, Property Values and Tradeoffs associated with Mid-20th Century Air Pollution.” NBER Working Paper No. 22155, Cambridge, MA, April 2016.Google Scholar
Cohen, Aaron J., Anderson, H. Ross, Ostro, Bart, et al. “Urban Air Pollution.” In Comparative Quantification of Health Risks, edited by Majid Ezzati, Alan D. Lopez, Anthony Rogers, and Christopher J. L. Murray, 1353–1434. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2004.Google Scholar
Cook, Laurence M. “The Rise and Fall of the Carbonaria Form of the Peppered Moth.” Quarterly Review of Biology 78, no. 4 (2003): 399–417.Google Scholar
Crafts, Nicholas F. R., and Wolf, Nikolaus. “The Location of the UK Cotton Textiles Industry in 1838: A Quantitative Analysis.” Journal of Economic History 74, no. 4 (2014): 1103–1139.Google Scholar
Crimmins, Eileen M., and Finch, Caleb E.. “Infection, Inflammation, Height and Longevity.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 103, no. 2 (2005): 498–503.Google Scholar
Currie, Janet. “Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: Socioeconomic Status, Poor Health in Childhood, and Human Capital Development.” Journal of Economic Literature 47, no. 1 (2009): 87–122.Google Scholar
Currie, Janet, Graff Zivin, Joshua S., Mullins, Jamie, and Neidell, Matthew J.. “What Do We Know about Short and Long Term Effects of Early Life Exposure to Pollution?” Annual Review of Resource Economics 6, no. 1 (2014): 217–247.Google Scholar
Currie, Janet, and Neidell, Matthew. “Air Pollution and Infant Health: What Can We Learn from California’s Recent Experience?” Quarterly Journal of Economics 120, no. 3 (2005): 1003–1030.Google Scholar
Cutler, David, and Miller, Grant. “The Role of Public Health Improvements in Health Advances: The Twentieth Century United States.” Demography 42, no. 1 (2005): 1–22.Google Scholar
Engels, Friedrich. The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844. London: Allen and Unwin, 1892.Google Scholar
Fernihough, Alan, and O’Rourke, Kevin H.. “Coal and the European Industrial Revolution.” NBER Working Paper 19802, Cambridge, MA, September 2014.Google Scholar
Ghosh, Rakesh, Amirian, E., Dostal, Miroslav, Sram, Radim J., et al. “Indoor Coal Use and Early Childhood Growth.” Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 165, no. 6 (2011): 492–497.Google Scholar
Grieves, Keith. The Politics of Manpower, 1914–1918. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1988.Google Scholar
Hanlon, W. Walker. “Coal Smoke and the Costs of the Industrial Revolution.” NBER Working Paper No. 22921, Cambridge, MA, December 2016.Google Scholar
Hanlon, W. Walker, and Tian, Yuan. “Killer Cities: Past and Present.” American Economic Review, Papers & Proceedings 105, no. 5 (2015): 570–575.Google Scholar
Hardy, Anne. “‘Death Is the Cure of All Diseases’: Using the General Register Office Cause of Death Statistics for 1837–1920.” Social History of Medicine 7, no. 3 (1994): 472–492.Google Scholar
Harrison, R. Giles. “Urban Smoke Concentrations at Kew, London, 1898–2004.” Atmospheric Environment 40 (2006): 3327–3332.Google Scholar
Hatton, Timothy J. “Infant Mortality and the Health of Survivors: Britain, 1910–1940.” Economic History Review 64, no. 3 (2011): 951–972.Google Scholar
Hatton, Timothy J. “How Have Europeans Grown So Tall?” Oxford Economic Papers 66, no. 2 (2014): 349–372.Google Scholar
Hatton, Timothy J. “Stature and Sibship: Historical Evidence.” History of the Family 22, no. 2–3 (2017): 175–195.Google Scholar
Hatton, Timothy J., and Bray, Bernice E.. “Long Run Trends in the Heights of European Men, 19th–20th Centuries.” Economics and Human Biology 8, no. 3 (2010): 405–413.Google Scholar
Heblich, Stephan, Trew, Alex, and Zylberberg, Yanos. “East Side Story: Historical Pollution and Persistent Neighbourhood Sorting.” London School of Economics, SERC Discussion Paper 208, November 2016.Google Scholar
Heinrich, Joachim, and Slama, Remy. “Fine Particles, a Major Threat to Children.” International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 210, no. 5 (2007): 617–622.Google Scholar
Higgs, Edward “Disease, Febrile Poisons, and Statistics: The Census as a Medical Survey, 1841–1911.” Social History of Medicine 4, no. 3 (1991): 465–478.Google Scholar
Isen, Adam, Rossin-Slater, Maya, and Walker, W. Reed. “Every Breath You Take – Every Dollar You’ll Make: The Long-Term Consequences of the Clean Air Act of 1970.” Journal of Political Economy 125, no. 3 (2017): 848–902.Google Scholar
Janke, Katharina, Propper, Carol, and Henderson, John. “Do Current Levels of Air Pollution Kill? The Impact of Air Pollution on Population Mortality in England.” Health Economics 18, no. 9 (2009): 1031–1055.Google Scholar
Jayachandran, Seema. “Air Quality and Early-Life Mortality: Evidence from Indonesia’s Wildfires.” Journal of Human Resources 44, no. 4 (2009): 916–954.Google Scholar
Jedrychowski, Wieslaw, Maugeri, U., and Jedrychowska-Bianchi, Iwona. “Body Growth Rate in Preadolescent Children and Outdoor Air Quality.” Environmental Research (Section A) 90, no. 1 (2002): 12–20.Google Scholar
Kennedy, Steven, Kidd, Michael P., McDonald, James T., and Biddle, Nicholas. “The Healthy Immigrant Effect: Patterns and Evidence from Four Countries.” Journal of International Migration and Integration 16, no. 2 (2015): 317–332.Google Scholar
Kyu, Hmwe H., Georgiades, Katholiki, and Boyle, Michael H.. “Maternal Smoking, Biofuel Smoke Exposure and Child Height-for-age in Seven Developing Countries.” International Journal of Epidemiology 38, no. 5 (2009): 1342–1350.Google Scholar
Long, Jason. “Rural-Urban Migration and Socioeconomic Mobility in Victorian Britain.” Journal of Economic History 65, no. 1 (2005): 1–35.Google Scholar
Marcotte, Dave A. “Something in the Air? Pollution, Allergens and Children’s Cognitive Functioning.” IZA Discussion Paper 9689, Bonn, Germany, January 2016.Google Scholar
Millward, Robert, and Bell, Frances N.. “Economic Factors in the Decline of Mortality in Late Nineteenth Century Britain.” European Review of Economic History 2, no. 3 (1998): 263–288.Google Scholar
Ministry of National Service. Report upon the Physical Examination of Men of Military Age by National Service Medical Boards from November 1st 1917-October 31st, 1918, Vol. I, (Cmd. 504). London: HMSO, 1920.Google Scholar
Mishra, Vinod, and Retherford, Robert D.. “Does Biofuel Smoke Contribute to Anaemia and Stunting in Early Childhood?” International Journal of Epidemiology 36, no. 1 (2007): 117–129.Google Scholar
Mitchell, Brian R. Economic Development of the British Coal Industry, 1800–1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.Google Scholar
Mosley, Stephen. The Chimney of the World: A History of Smoke Pollution in Victorian and Edwardian Manchester. Abingdon: Routledge, 2008.Google Scholar
Nilsson, Peter J. “The Long-Run Effects of Early Childhood Lead Exposure: Evidence from the Phase-out of Leaded Gasoline.” Unpublished Paper, Uppsala University, 2009.Google Scholar
Quintana-Domeque, Climent, Bozzoli, Carlos, and Bosch, Mariano. “Infant Mortality and Adult Stature in Spain.” Social Science and Medicine 72, no. 11 (2011): 1893–1903.Google Scholar
Ransom, Michael R., and Pope, C. Arden. “External Health Costs of a Steel Mill.” Contemporary Economic Policy 13, no. 2 (1995): 86–97.Google Scholar
Registrar General of England and Wales. Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report. London: HMSO, 1907.Google Scholar
Registrar General of England and Wales. Supplement to the Seventy-fifth Annual Report, Part IV. London: HMSO, 1920.Google Scholar
Rückerl, Regina, Schneider, Alexandra, Breitner, Susanne, et al. “Health Effects of Particulate Air Pollution: A Review of Epidemiological Evidence.” Inhalation Toxicology 23, no. 10 (2011): 555–592.Google Scholar
Schellekens, Jona, and van Poppel, Frans. “Early-Life Conditions and Adult Mortality Decline in Dutch Cohorts Born 1812–1921.” Population Studies 70, no. 3 (2017): 327–343.Google Scholar
Schiman, Jeffrey C., Kaestner, Robert, and Lo Sasso, Anthony T.. “Early Childhood Shocks and Adult Well-Being: Evidence from Wartime Britain.” NBER Working Paper 23763, Cambridge MA, August 2017.Google Scholar
Schwartz, J. “Air Pollution and Children’s Health.” Pediatrics 113, no. 4 (Suppl.) (2004): 1037–1043.Google Scholar
Simkins, Peter. Kitchener’s Army: The Raising of the New Armies, 1914–1916. London: Pen and Sword, 1988.Google Scholar
Szreter, Simon. Health and Wealth: Studies in History and Policy. Rochester, NY: Rochester University Press, 2005.Google Scholar
Tanaka, Shinsuke. “Environmental Regulations on Air Pollution in China and Their Impact on Infant Mortality.” Journal of Health Economics 42 (2015): 90–103.Google Scholar
Thorsheim, Peter. Inventing Pollution: Coal, Smoke, and Culture in Britain since 1800. Athens OH: University of Ohio Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Troesken, Werner. “The Limits of Jim Crow: Race and the Provision of Water and Sewerage Services in American Cities.” Journal of Economic History 62, no. 3 (2002): 734–773.Google Scholar
Weil, David N. “Accounting for the Effect of Health on Economic Growth.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 122, no. 3 (2007): 1265–1306.Google Scholar
Weil, David N. “Health and Economic Growth.” In Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 2, edited by Philippe Aghion and Steven Durlauf, 623–682. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2014.Google Scholar
Winter, Jay M. The Great War and the British People (2 nd Ed.). London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.Google Scholar
Wohl, Anthony S. Endangered Lives: Public Health in Victorian Britain. London: Methuen, 1983.Google Scholar
Zimran, Ariell. “Does Sample-Selection Bias Explain the Antebellum Puzzle? Evidence from Military Enlistment in the Nineteenth-Century United States.” Unpublished Paper, Vanderbilt University, 2017.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Bailey et al. supplementary material

Online Appendix

Download Bailey et al. supplementary material(File)
File 31.1 KB