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Air pollution and defensive expenditures: Evidence from particulate-filtering facemasks

Publication ,  Journal Article
Zhang, J; Mu, Q
Published in: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
November 1, 2018

Individuals take preventive measures to avoid costly air pollution exposure. This paper provides new empirical evidence of pollution avoidance that Chinese urban residents purchase particulate-filtering facemasks to protect against ambient air pollution. The analysis is conducted with detailed and comprehensive data available on daily facemask purchases and air quality that became available only very recently. We find that this transitory air pollution avoidance behavior exhibits dynamics and nonlinearities, with significant increases of facemask purchases during extreme pollution episodes. The daily model shows that a 100-point increase in Air Quality Index (AQI) increases the consumption of all masks by 54.5 percent and anti-PM2.5 masks by 70.6 percent. The estimates from the aggregated model with flexible pollution levels are used to simulate the benefit of air quality improvement. If 10 percent of heavy pollution days (AQI ≥201) were eliminated, the total savings on facemasks alone would be approximately 187 million USD in China. This result suggests that reducing the occurrence of “airpocalypse” events represents a signifi1cant opportunity to improve social welfare. Nevertheless, our estimates are likely only a small part of the benefit of clean air because facemasks can only partially reduce the negative health effects of air pollution and the costs of other avoidance behaviors are not included.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

DOI

EISSN

1096-0449

ISSN

0095-0696

Publication Date

November 1, 2018

Volume

92

Start / End Page

517 / 536

Related Subject Headings

  • Agricultural Economics & Policy
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 1402 Applied Economics
  • 1401 Economic Theory
  • 0502 Environmental Science and Management
 

Citation

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Zhang, J., & Mu, Q. (2018). Air pollution and defensive expenditures: Evidence from particulate-filtering facemasks. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 92, 517–536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2017.07.006
Zhang, J., and Q. Mu. “Air pollution and defensive expenditures: Evidence from particulate-filtering facemasks.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 92 (November 1, 2018): 517–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2017.07.006.
Zhang J, Mu Q. Air pollution and defensive expenditures: Evidence from particulate-filtering facemasks. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. 2018 Nov 1;92:517–36.
Zhang, J., and Q. Mu. “Air pollution and defensive expenditures: Evidence from particulate-filtering facemasks.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, vol. 92, Nov. 2018, pp. 517–36. Scopus, doi:10.1016/j.jeem.2017.07.006.
Zhang J, Mu Q. Air pollution and defensive expenditures: Evidence from particulate-filtering facemasks. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. 2018 Nov 1;92:517–536.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

DOI

EISSN

1096-0449

ISSN

0095-0696

Publication Date

November 1, 2018

Volume

92

Start / End Page

517 / 536

Related Subject Headings

  • Agricultural Economics & Policy
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 1402 Applied Economics
  • 1401 Economic Theory
  • 0502 Environmental Science and Management