We collected a range of determinants of mortality and life expectancy,
besides TSPs, that are used as control variables in the
subsequent statistical analysis. We obtained daily average temperature
data for each location in the air pollution sample from
the World Meteorological Organization that was used to calculate
annual heating and cooling degree days (24). We also compiled
a series of variables from China’s 2000 census that are potentially
related to health outcomes: average education of county residents,
manufacturing’s share of employment, the percentage of residents
with urban registration, and the percentage of residents with access
to tap water. The data file also includes an income variable
taken from the DSP, which placed each site into one of four
income categories.