Although at least 400 million people suffer from seasonal allergies worldwide, the adverse effects of pollen on “non-health” outcomes, such as cognition and productivity, are relatively understudied. Using ambulance archives from Japan, we demonstrate that high pollen days are associated with increased accidents and injuries—one of the most extreme consequences of cognitive impairment. We find some evidence of avoidance behavior in buying allergy products but limited evidence in curtailing outdoor activity, implying that the cognitive risk of pollen exposure is discounted. Our results suggest that policymakers may wish to consider programs to raise public awareness of the risk and promote behavioral change.

Hitoshi Shigeoka received a B.A. (2001) and an MA (2003) in chemical engineering from University of Tokyo, and master of international affairs (2006) and PhD in economics (2012) from Columbia University. In addition to his position as Professor at the University of Tokyo, Shigeoka is an Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University, a Research Associate with the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and a Research Fellow of IZA. A well-recognized expert in health economics as well as labor, public, and behavioral economics, he has published in many top journals and serves on the Board of Editors for the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy as well as Associate Editor for the Journal of Health Economics and the Japanese Economic Review. His recent research spans topics ranging from healthcare price elasticity and vaccine mandates to peer effects in education, AI and productivity, and CEO gender bias.