Air pollution and internal migration: evidence from an Iranian household survey

Abstract Air pollution has become an important national issue in Iran recent years. Several studies have shown that air harmfully impacts the physical and mental health of citizens, reducing labor productivity student academic performance. One aspect is yet to be examined if it explains migration behavior across provinces Iran. Between 2011 2016, approximately 4.3 million Iranians (about 5% population) left their habitual residences moved new locations (mostly within borders Iran). The purpose this study examine effect (measured using satellite data aerosol optical depth) on net outmigration. We used from 2016 National Population Housing Censuses for 31 applied panel fixed effects instrumental variable procedures analyze data. Our results show a positive significant also found higher levels economic activities discourage