Exploring the causal relationships between health, pollution, and growth: evidence from OECD countries

This study examines the impact of particulate matter and income levels on three mortality indicators in a sample of OECD countries from 1990 to 2017. The empirical analysis is performed within a panel cointegration framework to test for cointegration and causal relationships. The findings support an equilibrium relationship holding mortality rates with pollution and income in the long-run. Estimated coefficients and causality tests show that increasing pollution rises mortality rates while increasing GDP per capita has the opposite effect. The main contribution of this study is to bring attention to the relationship between mortality rates, fine particulate matter and income for a panel of OECD countries combining cointegration analysis and causality tests. © 2023 Franco Angeli Edizioni. All rights reserved.