Gray skies and blue moms: The effect of air pollution on parental life satisfaction

We show that individuals report lower life satisfaction in response to worsening air quality if young children are present in the household. This observed impact is driven by the subpopulation of mothers, and it attenuates as children grow older. We conclude that mothers’ disproportionate responsibility for child-rearing and children's higher vulnerability to air pollution are the likely channels that mediate the relationship. Our findings provide robust evidence on the importance of taking the presence of young children and parental family roles into account when calculating the monetary value of air quality using the life satisfaction approach.