Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health and Peking University have found that Chinese families are willing to invest up to 6 percent of their annual income in efforts to improve air quality.
Published in Ecological Economics on March 7, the study aimed to determine the amount people are willing to pay for efforts to reduce air pollution, such as environmental policies to introduce more electric cars and natural gas heating. The researchers found that on average, families with children under the age of 6 are willing to invest 5.9 percent of their annual income, while families without children under 6 years old are willing to pay 3.3 percent.
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health and Peking University have found that Chinese families are willing to invest up to 6 percent of their annual income in efforts to improve air quality.
Published in Ecological Economics on March 7, the study aimed to determine the amount people are willing to pay for efforts to reduce air pollution, such as environmental policies to introduce more electric cars and natural gas heating. The researchers found that on average, families with children under the age of 6 are willing to invest 5.9 percent of their annual income, while families without children under 6 years old are willing to pay 3.3 percent.
“When we get all these values of willingness to pay for major population groups for China, we can let the policymakers know what is the potential demand and how they can match the demand and supply of good air,” said Xi Chen, a lead author on the study and a professor at the School of Public Health.
Xiaobo Zhang, chair of the Peking University economics department and a co-author on the study, emphasized the growing concern of air pollution in China and his interest in studying its impact, as well as solutions to resolving the crisis. Chen said that in recent years, the Chinese government has been increasing environmental regulations in an effort to combat the phenomenon.
Read more at Yale School of Public Health and Peking University
Image: The smog under the Zhongyuan Fortune Tower in Zhengzhou (Credits: Sammy Corfield via Wikimedia Commons)
