STEG Working Paper Series

Searching for Customers, Finding Pollution

Vittorio Bassi, Matthew E. Kahn, Nancy Lozano Gracia, Tommaso Porzio, and Jeanne Sorin

SearchingForCustomersFindingPollution.jpeg

In developing countries, most manufacturing firms are small and located in high-density urban areas, often near congested streets. To study the determinants and implications of this location choice, we collect a novel firm survey and detailed air pollution measurements within Ugandan cities. We find that firms locate on the busiest roads searching for customer visibility, but in doing so they expose their workers to substantial pollution. This sorting pattern increases profits, but with severe health costs: if firms were randomly located across space, annual profits would decrease by $195 for the average firm, but its workers' life expectancy would increase by two months.

Related content

STEG Working Paper Series

Self-employment Within the Firm

Vittorio Bassi, Jung Hyuk Lee, Alessandra Peter, Tommaso Porzio, Ritwika Sen, Esau Tugume • Research Theme 1: Firms, Frictions and Spillovers, and Industrial Policy
STEG Working Paper Series

Worker Mobility in Production Networks

Marvin Cardoza, Francesco Grigoli, Nicola Pierri, Cian Ruane • Research Theme 1: Firms, Frictions and Spillovers, and Industrial Policy
STEG Working Paper Series

The Great Upgrade

Alexandros Ragoussis, Jonathan Timmis • Research Theme 1: Firms, Frictions and Spillovers, and Industrial Policy