Currie and Neidell (2005) extend this line of research by examining the effect of more recent levels of pollution on infant health,and by examining other pollutants in addition to particulates.
Using within-zip code variation in pollution levels, they find that a one unit reduction in carbon monoxide over the 1990s in California saved 18 infant lives per 100,000 live births.
However, they were unable to find any consistent evidence of pollution effects on health at birth.
This paper improves on Currie and Neidell (2005) by using more accurate measures of pollution exposure, controlling
for mother fixed effects, and investigating the interaction of air pollution with smoking and other risk factors.