We hosted a Development Seminar on “The effects of air pollution on health and productivity” with Prof. Alex Tabarrok, Professor of Economics at the George Mason University and Research Fellow with the Mercatus Centre.

Abstract: Globally, the last two decades have seen a phenomenal increase in the level of air pollution. Air pollution is responsible for 72% of the 9 million deaths per year from all types of pollution. Southeast Asia has the highest number of pollution-related deaths. In this talk, Prof. Tabarrok will present an overview of recent studies on air pollution, emphasising more credible research designs and the wide variety of ways in which it has subtler and worse effects than previously thought.

Speaker’s Bio: Prof. Tabarrok’s research focuses on the topics of health economics, alternative political institutions and empirical law and economics. He and Tyler Cowen co-founded the Marginal Revolution University: An Online Platform for learning economics. He is also the co-author of ‘Modern Principles of Economics’, and author of the recent e-book, ‘Launching the Innovation Renaissance.’ 

Panelists: Dr. Divya Datt is Programme Management Officer is UNEP’s India office, responsible for UNEP’s programme portfolio in India. Her specialisation is in applied policy research on environmental issues spanning diverse sectors. Before joining UNEP, she was with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, as Senior Fellow and Director, Integrated Policy Analysis Programme.

Moderator: Prachi Singh, Associate Fellow, Brookings India