Maritime traffic is expected to increase in the coming years due to the growth in international
trade. Today's inhabitants of port cities benefit from the economic activity
induced by maritime activities but they also suffer from local air pollution externalities.
We estimate the impact of maritime traffic on local air pollution and health outcomes
in part of Marseille port, France's largest port city. Using detailed daily data
on boats' arrivals, we find that boat arrivals cause small but statistically significant
increases in several air pollutant concentrations. We then investigate the relationship
between maritime traffic and short-term health in reduced-form specifications.
Boat traffic has no statistically significant impact on contemporaneous mortality, and
future steps will investigate impacts on hospitals' emergency admissions and drugs
consumption.