Tommaso Frattini (University of Milan)
Giovanna D'Adda, Simone Ferro and Alessio Romarri
This paper investigates the impact of air pollution on the performance and safety of food delivery riders. Using confidential, high-frequency administrative data combined with granular air pollution and weather indicators, we examine how fluctuations in PM2.5 levels affect riders' absenteeism, delivery speed, and accidents. To address endogeneity, we employ an instrumental variable approach, using the Inverse Planetary Boundary Layer Height (IBLH) as an exogenous source of pollution variation. Our findings show that worse air quality increases absenteeism, slows delivery --especially for bike riders-- and raises accident rates. Monetary incentives mitigate absenteeism but fail to offset pollutions impact on delivery speed. These results underscore the need for protective measures for workers exposed to urban pollution.