Valdés Fernández, Manuel TomásCañizares Espadafor, María del MarConte Keivabu, Risto2025-02-062025-02-062025-01-25Valdés, M.T., Espadafor, M.C. & Conte Keivabu, R. Can a low emission zone improve academic performance? Evidence from a natural experiment in the city of Madrid. Popul Environ 47, 8 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-025-00477-80199-0039 | eISSN 1573-7810https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-025-00477-8https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/25833The registered version of this article, first published in “Popul Environ 47, 8 (2025)", is available online at the publisher's website: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-025-00477-8 La versión registrada de este artículo, publicado por primera vez en “Popul Environ 47, 8 (2025)", está disponible en línea en el sitio web del editor: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-025-00477-8In the last decades, various policies have been implemented to reduce air pollution exposure and improve public health outcomes. Among these, low emission zones (LEZs) have been shown to effectively enhance air quality and health outcomes. However, their potential positive externalities on other outcomes, such as academic performance, remain largely unexplored. This study examines the LEZ introduced in the city of Madrid in late 2018 and investigates its impact on the academic performance of students schooled in the designated area. Using a difference-in-differences design, we demonstrate the policy’s effectiveness in improving air quality during its first 4 years. Subsequently, we find a significant increase of 0.20 standard deviations in the average EvAU scores (a high-stakes examination for university admission) among high schools located within the LEZ, a critical advantage for students seeking entry into the most competitive university programmes. Notably, our findings reveal positive spillover effects in the surroundings of the LEZ area and a greater improvement with longer and earlier exposure to cleaner air. Overall, this study offers compelling evidence of the educational benefits resulting from the implementation of a low emission zone that successfully improves air quality.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess59 Ciencia Política::5906 Sociología políticaartículolow emission zoneair pollutionacademic performancedifference-in-differences