EKH Seminar - Alan de Bromhead

Alan de Bromhead at University College Dublin will present a seminar titled:

Clearing the Air: Evidence from Ireland on Housing Quality and Mortality

Alan de Bromhead webpage (ucd.ie)

Abstract:

Poor housing conditions, and the negative effects of Household Air Pollution (HAP) in
particular, remain one of the most pressing global public health challenges. While the
association between poor housing and health has a long history, evidence of a direct link is
lacking. In this paper we examine a rare example of a public housing intervention in rural
areas, namely the large-scale provision of social housing in Ireland in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. We exploit a novel dataset of deaths-by-disease and deaths-by-age and-
sex over the period 1871–1919, to test the impact of the intervention on mortality. Our
difference-in difference estimates indicate that improved housing conditions reduced
mortality by as much as 1 death per 1000. This effect is driven by reductions in deaths
from respiratory diseases. We propose a likely mechanism that is consistent with the
pattern of results we observe: a reduction in Household Air Pollution through improved
housing quality and better ventilation. A cost-benefit analysis reveals that the scheme
was a highly cost-effective intervention.