Pollution-induced trips: Evidence from flight and train bookings in China

Ruochen Dai, Dongmei Guo, Yajie Han and Yu Qin

Journal of Development Economics, 2024, vol. 171, issue C

Abstract: Utilizing a novel database including nearly 2.2 billion booking records in China, we examine whether people escape from pollution by traveling to “cleaner” places. Combining an instrumental variable approach with high-dimensional fixed effects, we find a 50-unit increase in the AQI gap between a city pair leads to a 1.30% (1.33%) increase in train and airline ticket bookings from the origin to the destination city departing within one day (2–7 days). In addition, the destination of such pollution-induced trips is more likely to be an intra-province city with more tourist attractions. We also measure willingness to pay for clean air.

Keywords: Air pollution; Travel flow; Avoidance behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O15 Q53 Q56 R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:171:y:2024:i:c:s0304387824000890

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103340

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