Willingness to pay for clean air: evidence from air purifier markets in China
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Published version
Author(s)
Ito, Koichiro
Zhang, Shuang
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We develop a framework to estimate willingness to pay for clean air from defensive investments on differentiated products. Applying this framework to scanner data on air purifier sales in China, we find that a household is willing to pay $1.34 annually to remove 1 μg/m3 of air pollution (PM10) and $32.7 annually to eliminate the pollution induced by the Huai River heating policy. Substantial heterogeneity is explained by income and exposure to information on air pollution. Using these estimates, we evaluate various environmental policies and quantify the value of recent air quality improvements since China declared a war on pollution in 2014.
Date Issued
2020-05
Date Acceptance
2020-03-01
Citation
Journal of Political Economy, 2020, 128 (5), pp.1627-1672
ISSN
0022-3808
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Start Page
1627
End Page
1672
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Political Economy
Volume
128
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2020 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Published by Journal of Political Economy May 2020
Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/705554
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2020-03-18