Abstract
Air pollution is a major constraint to health and economic productivity in low- and middle-income countries, yet its effects on labor productivity in industrial settings remain poorly understood. Prior research in garment factories in Dhaka, Bangladesh, showed that installing portable air purifiers reduced indoor PM2.5 exposure by 12.7 µg/m³ and increased worker productivity by approximately 10 percent under real-world conditions. This project builds on that evidence to study the mechanisms underlying the pollution–productivity relationship and the conditions that modulate productivity gains from cleaner air. We conduct a randomized field experiment with garment workers participating in a one-day production task in a controlled factory setting. Workers are randomly assigned to one of eight treatment arms in a two-by-four factorial design that varies indoor air quality (placebo, low, medium, and high air purification settings) and economic incentives (baseline versus high piece-rate pay). The design allows us to estimate a dose-response relationship between air pollution exposure and productivity, and to test whether financial incentives amplify or attenuate productivity responses to cleaner air. Primary outcomes include worker productivity measured as garments completed during the shift. The experiment is designed to provide causal evidence on whether productivity responds non-linearly to pollution reduction and whether incentive structures shape workers’ behavioral responses to environmental conditions.