Knowledge protects against pollution: The health effects of the cadmium rice event in China.

• We study the effects of an episode of extensive news coverage of cadmium contamination of rice in China in 2013. • The cadmium rice event reduced the incidence of joint or muscle pain (JMP) by 2% in Hunan Province. • Hunan residents switched away from unsafe drinking water sources such as surface water to deep groundwater, which contributed to the reduction in JMP incidence. • Hunan residents also reduced their consumption of rice in response to the event. • Strong evidence is in support of news and public information as supplemental approaches to formal environmental regulation. The paper studies the effects of news media coverage of the 2013 cadmium rice event in China on consumer health outcomes and avoidance behavior. A difference-in-differences analysis shows that the event caused a 2% decrease in the incidence of joint or muscle pain (JMP), a major health outcome of cadmium pollution, in high-cadmium-pollution regions relative to other regions. Individuals with higher income or with more access to traditional TV media or digital media experienced a greater level of JMP reduction. To defend against cadmium pollution, residents in cadmium-polluted regions switched their drinking water from unsafe sources such as surface water to the safe source of deep groundwater and significantly reduced their consumption of rice. Our findings demonstrate the importance of information provision as an informal approach to complement formal environmental regulation and the critical role of news media in environmental regulation and public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]