January 4, 2019

A new study conducted by Associate Professor Alberto Salvo, Associate Professor Liu Haoming, and Dr He Jiaxu (NUS Department of Economics) on air pollution was featured in The Straits Times.

The study, just published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, found that long-term exposure to polluted air adversely affects the productivity of a workforce. More specifically, while productivity was not immediately affected by daily fluctuations in pollution, exposure of up to 30 days caused output levels to drop. Assoc Prof Liu highlights that this is due to physiological and – possibly – psychological reasons, such as a disrupted mood or disposition to work.

Furthermore, although the study was carried out on two textile mills in China, its findings also apply to Singapore. Assoc Prof Salvo stresses that productivity could be hurt even though Singapore does not always experience high air pollution, for even a slight increase in pollution levels can cause a 1% drop in productivity.

Given these findings, Assoc Prof Liu recommends that companies in Singapore ask employees to lower their exposure to the outdoor air if pollution levels increase. He suggests encouraging them to either work indoors, or close the windows when they are at home.

Read the article here.