Abstract
Air pollution worsens work environment and increases the likelihood of health risks and even premature death for humans. Owing to the fundamental structure of growth through the combustion of fossil fuels, productivity growth in the transportation industry has affected the natural environment. In this study, the authors use the Malmquist environmental productivity index to consider the effects of air pollution on productivity growth in the air and truck transportation industries, which are the biggest air polluters in the US. This study finds that on average, the air transportation industry does not increase actual productivity with an air pollution reduction, but the truck transportation industry positively grows with a reduction in one of the air pollutants studied (carbon monoxide, particulate matter) or both from 2008 to 2011, suggesting entering a period of environmentally sustainable transportation industry growth.
Highlights
The positive relationship between air pollution and the development of the transportation industry has led toJ
The transport sector, which has usually operated by fossil fuel combustion for the past couple of centuries, has been a fundamental part of the economic growth of a nation [1]; on the other hand, transportation-made air pollutants such as lead, mercury, ozone, carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM) have contributed to negative environmental changes and wellness issues in terms of respiratory sickness and even premature death [2] [3]
A change from transportation for people to transportation for people and the environment is happening around the world through the development of environmentally friendly transport modes and the proliferation of eco-friendly laws
Summary
The positive relationship between air pollution and the development of the transportation industry has led toJ. In 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency, through surveys of willingness to pay for avoiding air pollution health risks, estimated that the benefits and costs of clean air would be $2 trillion and $66 billion per year from 1990 to 2020, respectively. They concluded that this is a result of increased productivity and decreased health expenses from a clean air environment [4]. Conventional Malmquist productivity in an outputor input-oriented way uses non-environmental factors for inputs such as fuel, land, labor, and transport modes, but does not consider undesirable environmental factors such as air pollutants
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