A new study by U.K.’s National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that despite the common belief that air pollution was an unavoidable by-product of the industrial revolution, it had a significant negative impact on economic development. Air pollution mainly from coal smoke reduced the growth of industrializing cities as it discouraged people to move to these most polluted areas. Additionally, it reduced the productivity of those already living there. Even if the full implications of air pollutions for human health were not clear in the Victorian age, air pollution made cities an unattractive space to live. The findings are in line with studies of currently developing cities or agricultural areas, where links between high pollution levels and low productivity have been detected.
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