This paper finds that the Huai River policy had dramatic
impacts on pollution and human health. To the north of the Huai
River, particulate concentrations are 184 μg/m3 [95% confidence
interval (CI): 61, 307], or 55% higher, and life expectancies are
5.5 y (95% CI: 0.8, 10.2) lower, almost entirely due to an increased
incidence of cardiorespiratory mortality (and no effect on othercauses). The estimates suggest that the 500 million residents of
Northern China during the 1990s experienced a loss of more than
2.5 billion life years owing to the Huai River policy