There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) adversely affects student performance (e.g., Ebenstein et al., 2016, Carneiro et al., 2021, Zhang et al., 2018, Deng et al., 2023, Yao et al., 2023). In particular, Ebenstein et al. (2016) employed data on matriculation examination outcomes and city-level PM2.5 concentrations in Israel during 2000–2002 to assess the impact of PM2.5 exposure on exam success. Their findings indicate that a 10-unit increase in PM2.5 concentration, measured by the Air Quality Index (AQI), corresponds to a 0.40-point reduction in exam scores (on a 0–100 scale) when accounting for student fixed effects. Moreover, they demonstrate a lasting consequence of this decrease, leading to a diminished likelihood of students pursuing university education.
We investigate the causal effects of very short-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 air pollution on students’ performance in Finland. Conducting a nationwide panel study covering over 370,000 high-school matriculation exams from 253 schools between 2006 and 2016, we incorporate hourly air pollution measures from the nearest monitoring stations. The panel structure of Finnish matriculation exams, wherein students undertake multiple exams in various courses, allows us to observe test scores for each student across different exams taken on varying dates within the same schools.
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