Does urban air pollution have an impact on public health? Empirical evidence from 288 prefecture-level cities in China

The impact of air pollution on public health is a popular topic among socio-economists and environmental researchers everywhere. Although much research has been conducted on it, the connection between air pollution and public health at the urban scale in China is still not well understood. This study employs a spatial econometric model using panel data from 288 Chinese cities from 2000 to 2021 to explore the spatial impact of air pollution on public health and to investigate regional heterogeneity across regions. The findings indicate that there is a significant spatial correlation between the level of public health and the level of air pollution in various cities in China, and air pollution has spillover effects between these cities; air pollution, as well as GDP per capita, industrial structure, green space per capita, population density, and number of physicians per 10,000 people, all have positive or negative effects on public health; in the eastern, central and western regions, air pollution and the impact of control variables on population mortality are different, from a regional perspective, the impact of air pollution on public health varies significantly from region to region. This study enriches the research on air pollution and public health, and the conclusions obtained have strong practical significance for improving urban air pollution and ensuring residents' health.