Cost-of-Illness and Willingness-to-Pay Estimates of the Benefits of Improved Air Quality: Evidence from Taiwan

2000 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Alberini ◽  
Alan Krupnick
2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (10) ◽  
pp. 2958-2989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Deschênes ◽  
Michael Greenstone ◽  
Joseph S. Shapiro

The demand for air quality depends on health impacts and defensive investments, but little research assesses the empirical importance of defenses. A rich quasi-experiment suggests that the Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Budget Program (NBP), a cap-and-trade market, decreased NOx emissions, ambient ozone concentrations, pharmaceutical expenditures, and mortality rates. The annual reductions in pharmaceutical purchases, a key defensive investment, and mortality are valued at about $800 million and $1.3 billion, respectively, suggesting that defenses are over one-third of willingness-to-pay for reductions in NOx emissions. Further, estimates indicate that the NBP's benefits easily exceed its costs and that NOx reductions have substantial benefits. (JEL I12, Q51, Q53, Q58)


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh Cong Nguyen ◽  
Hang Dieu Nguyen ◽  
Hoa Thu Le ◽  
Shinji Kaneko

PurposeThis purpose of this paper is to understand residents’ choice of preferred measures and their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the measures to improve the air quality of Hanoi city.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaire surveys were conducted to collect the opinions of 212 household representatives living in Hanoi City. The survey tools were tested and adjusted through an online survey with 191 responses. Multivariate probit and linear regression models were used to identify determinants of respondents’ choices of measures and their WTP.FindingsRespondents expressed their strong preferences for three measures for air quality improvements, including: (1) increase of green spaces; (2) use of less polluting fuels; (3) expansion of public transportation. The mean WTP for the implementation of those measures was estimated at about 148,000–282,000 Vietnamese dong, equivalent to 0.09–0.16% of household income. The respondents’ choices appear to be consistent with their characteristics and needs, such as financial affordability, time on roads and their perceived impacts of air pollution. The WTP estimates increase with perception of air pollution impacts, time on roads, education and income; but are lower for older people.Originality/valueTo gain a better understanding of public opinions, we applied multivariate probit models to check whether respondents’ choices were consistent with their characteristics and perceptions. This appears to be the first attempt to test the validity of public opinions on choices of measures for improving urban air quality in Vietnam. Our WTP estimates also contribute to the database on the values of improved air quality in the developing world.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rema Hanna ◽  
Bridget Hoffmann ◽  
Paulina Oliva ◽  
Jake Schneider

Male, younger, and higher-income respondents as well as those who perceived high pollution in recent days showed greater willingness to pay for SMS air quality alerts. Willingness to pay was uncorrelated with actual recent high pollution. Recipients of SMS alerts indicated having received air pollution information via SMS, along with reporting a high-pollution day in the past week and having stayed indoors on the most recent day they perceived pollution to be high. However, alert recipients were not more accurate in identifying which specific days had high pollution than other respondents. Households that received a free N95 mask were more likely to report utilizing a mask with a filter during the past two weeks but not more likely to report using a mask with a filter on the specific days with high particulate matter.


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