Essays on Environmental and Economic Determinants of Health and Behavior
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This dissertation explores how economic and environmental exposures shape individual health outcomes and behaviors through three empirical essays. The first chapter examines the causal impact of housing wealth fluctuations on health status using panel data from China. Using plausibly exogenous variation in local housing prices and restricted-use health records from China, it estimates the causal impact of positive wealth shocks on short- and medium-term physical and mental health outcomes, with heterogeneity by liquidity constraints and health insurance status. The second chapter investigates the health burden of airborne pollen exposure by linking high-resolution pollen monitoring data to hospitalization records from the U.S. National Inpatient Sample (NIS). I show that elevated pollen concentrations significantly increase asthma-related inpatient admissions, with the strongest effects observed among children and older adults. Using inverse hyperbolic sine transformations and flexible fixed effect specifications, the analysis uncovers robust associations even after adjusting for co-occurring pollutants and weather conditions. The findings underscore the growing health risks of environmental allergens under climate change. The third chapter complements this analysis by examining behavioral adaptation to pollen exposure through time use. Using nationally representative data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), I assess how individuals adjust outdoor activity in response to changing ambient pollen levels. While point estimates suggest near zero effect on outdoor time during high-pollen months, these effects are not robust across model specifications. The results suggest limited behavioral avoidance, reinforcing the plausibility of observed hospitalization effects and highlighting vulnerable populations’ constrained capacity to adapt. Together, these essays provide new evidence on how economic resources and environmental stressors interact to shape health and behavior, with implications for climate adaptation, housing policy, and public health planning.