Author(s)

Jaesung Choi^1*, David C. Roberts²

¹Transportation and Logistics Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.
²Department of Agribusiness & Applied Economics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.

Air pollution worsens work environment and increases the likelihood of health risks and even premature death for humans. Owing to the fundamental structure of growth through the combustion of fossil fuels, productivity growth in the transportation industry has affected the natural environment. In this study, the authors use the Malmquist environmental productivity index to consider the effects of air pollution on productivity growth in the air and truck transportation industries, which are the biggest air polluters in the US. This study finds that on average, the air transportation industry does not increase actual productivity with an air pollution reduction, but the truck transportation industry positively grows with a reduction in one of the air pollutants studied (carbon monoxide, particulate matter) or both from 2008 to 2011, suggesting entering a period of environmentally sustainable transportation industry growth.

Date Envelopment Analysis, Malmquist Environmental Productivity Index, Sustainable Growth, Air and Truck Transportation Industries

Choi, J. and Roberts, D. (2015) Impacts of Air Pollution on Productivity Growth in the Air and Truck Transportation Industries in the US: an Application of the Data Envelopment Analysis Malmquist Environmental Productivity Index. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 120-129. doi: 10.4236/jss.2015.32016.