Valuing public goods using happiness data: The case of air quality

Arik Levinson

Journal of Public Economics, 2012, vol. 96, issue 9-10, 869-880

Abstract: This paper describes and implements a method for valuing a time-varying local public good: air quality. It models survey respondents' self-reported happiness as a function of their demographic characteristics, incomes, and the air pollution and weather on the date and in the place they were surveyed. People with higher incomes report higher levels of happiness, and people interviewed on days with worse local air pollution report lower levels of happiness. Combining these two concepts, I derive the average marginal rate of substitution between income and current air quality — a compensating differential for short-term changes in air pollution.

Keywords: Willingness to pay; Stated well-being; Pollution; Compensating differential (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H41 Q51 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (286)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Valuing Public Goods Using Happiness Data: The Case of Air Quality (2009)
Working Paper: Valuing Public Goods Using Happiness Data: The Case of Air Quality (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:96:y:2012:i:9:p:869-880

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2012.06.007

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