近日，北京大学市场经济研究中心特聘研究员莫家伟助理教授、吴泽南长聘副教授和袁野助理教授的合作论文《Air Pollution Kills Competition: Evidence from ESports》在环境经济学领域顶级期刊《Journal of Environmental Economics and Management》2023年10月刊上发表。

　　Abstract：This article investigates how environmental adversity affects competitive performance in cognitive-intensive settings. Using a comprehensive dataset of professional eSports tournaments and match-hour variation of fine particulate matters, we find robust evidence that pollution kills competition. Specifically, higher air pollution levels diminish the performance and winning odds of the weaker team in a matchup while boosting that of the stronger team, widening the gap between them. We document two operating channels: (i) pollution leads to heterogeneous performance-reducing effects contingent on a team’s relative strength against their opponent, rather than its absolute competitiveness; and (ii) a weaker team adjusts their strategic decision-making differently in a polluted environment compared to their stronger counterparts. Our findings elucidate the distributional impact of environmental adversity and underscore its influence on strategic decision-making.