You are here: Home / Publications / The Consequences of Industrialization: Evidence from Water Pollution and Digestive Cancers in China

The Consequences of Industrialization: Evidence from Water Pollution and Digestive Cancers in China

Ebenstein, Avraham Y. (2012). The Consequences of Industrialization: Evidence from Water Pollution and Digestive Cancers in China. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(1), 186-201.

Ebenstein, Avraham Y. (2012). The Consequences of Industrialization: Evidence from Water Pollution and Digestive Cancers in China. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(1), 186-201.

Octet Stream icon 2054.ris — Octet Stream, 1 kB (1621 bytes)

China's rapid industrialization has led to a severe deterioration in water quality in the country's lakes and rivers. By exploiting variation in pollution across China's river basins, I estimate that a deterioration of water quality by a single grade (on a six-grade scale) increases the digestive cancer death rate by 9.7%. The analysis rules out other potential explanations such as smoking rates, dietary patterns, and air pollution. I estimate that doubling China's levy rates for wastewater dumping would save roughly 17,000 lives per year but require an additional [dollar]500 million in annual spending on wastewater treatment. China's rapid industrialization has led to a severe deterioration in water quality in the country's lakes and rivers. By exploiting variation in pollution across China's river basins, I estimate that a deterioration of water quality by a single grade (on a six-grade scale) increases the digestive cancer death rate by 9.7%. The analysis rules out other potential explanations such as smoking rates, dietary patterns, and air pollution. I estimate that doubling China's levy rates for wastewater dumping would save roughly 17,000 lives per year but require an additional [dollar]500 million in annual spending on wastewater treatment.




JOUR



Ebenstein, Avraham Y.



2012


The Review of Economics and Statistics

94

1

186-201






0034-6535

10.1162/REST_a_00150



2054