Johann Ohler's Avatar

Johann Ohler

@ohlerjohann

PhD Economic History @LSE johannohler.com

67
Followers 60
Following 6
Posts 26.11.2024
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by Johann Ohler @ohlerjohann

If you want to find out more you can read the WP here: lse.ac.uk/asset-librar... via @lseechist.bsky.social

20.10.2025 15:04 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

This was an early, large-scale experiment in how the built environment shapes public health. The program delivered large health gains for modest public spending. The lesson is clear: investing in housing quality can be an efficient public health interventions.

20.10.2025 15:04 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Using detailed mortality data (by disease, age, and sex), we find:
- Cottage building causally reduced overall mortality by ~6.5%
- Biggest reductions came from diseases of the respiratory tract (e.g. bronchitis).
- Mechanism: lower HAP via better ventilation and cleaner air.

20.10.2025 15:04 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Post image Post image

Our study examines one of the earliest large-scale rural housing programs (Ireland, 1871–1919). Thousands of modern cottages - solid, ventilated, and smoke-free - replaced rundown, damp, and smoke filled dwellings.

20.10.2025 15:04 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Wood-burning stoves to be allowed in new homes in England despite concerns Campaigners condemn decision amid growing evidence of harm to health and climate from heating appliances

The link between household air pollution (HAP) and health has been in the news recently — yet long-run causal evidence is rare:

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

20.10.2025 15:04 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
DP20725 Build Better Health: Evidence from Ireland on Housing Quality and Mortality Poor housing conditions, and the negative effects of Household Air Pollution (HAP) in particular, remain one of the most pressing global public health challenges. While the association between poor housing and health has a long history, evidence of a direct link is lacking. In this paper, we examine a rare example of a public housing intervention in rural areas, namely the large-scale provision of high-quality housing in Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We exploit a novel dataset of deaths-by-disease and deaths-by-age-and-sex over the period 1871–1919, to test the impact of the intervention on mortality. Our difference-in difference estimates indicate that improved housing conditions reduced mortality by as much as 1 death per 1000. This effect is driven by reductions in deaths from respiratory diseases. We propose a likely mechanism that is consistent with the pattern of results we observe: a reduction in Household Air Pollution through improved housing quality and better ventilation. A cost-benefit analysis reveals that the scheme was a highly cost-effective intervention.

Excited to share my recent WP with Alan de Bromhead & @ronanlyons.bsky.social

Build Better Health: Evidence from Ireland on Housing Quality and Mortality

cepr.org/publications... via @cepr.org

20.10.2025 15:04 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0