Better Breathing Through Baseball: UMD Researcher Links Umpire Decision Making and Air Quality

September 28, 2018

 

In the past few months, AREC Professor James Archsmith’s research has been referenced in articles related to pollution’s effect on the game of baseball.

Air Quality and Error Quality: Pollution and Performance in a High-skilled, Quality-focused Occupation,” is co-authored by Professor Archsmith and was published in the October issue of the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. According to the study, short-term exposure to even low levels of carbon monoxide or fine particulate pollution adversely affects decision making of Major League Baseball umpires. The study highlights the impact of poor air quality on the workplace performance of those doing more skilled, cognitively oriented jobs.

Further coverage about Archsmith’s research comes from the Energy Institute at Haas, based at the University of California, Berkeley, and more recently in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Maryland Today. 

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Air Quality and Error Quantity: Pollution and Performance in a High-Skilled, Quality-Focused Occupation
James Archsmith, Anthony Heyes, and Soodeh Saberian
Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 2018 5:4, 827-863
https://doi.org/10.1086/698728