According to a new study from researchers at the University of Ottawa and Columbia University, when outdoor air pollution levels rise in Manhattan, stock prices fall.
The study tracked the S&P 500 index, the most widely cited New York Stock Exchange benchmark, over a 15-year period and compared its returns with hourly measures of fine particulate matter in lower Manhattan, where the NYSE is based.
The one standard deviation increase in air pollution decreases returns by 11.9 percent, or what the researchers deemed a “substantial effect on daily NYSE returns.”
“We hypothesize that pollution decreases the risk attitudes of investors via short-term changes in brain and/or physical health.”
CBS MONEY WATCH: Why Investors May Want to Keep Tabs on Air Pollution
