An Economic Evaluation of the Health Effects of Reducing Fine Particulate Pollution in Chinese Cities

Yana Jin and Shiqiu Zhang
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Yana Jin: Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, College of William & Mary; Mäler Scholar, The Beijer Institute, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Former PhD student, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University. Author email: jinyana1106@gmail.com
Shiqiu Zhang: Professor, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University. Author email: zhangshq@pku.edu.cn.

Asian Development Review, 2018, vol. 35, issue 2, 58-84

Abstract: Fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) is a leading mortality risk factor in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and many Asian countries. Current studies of PM2.5 mortality have been conducted at the national and provincial levels, or at the grid-based micro level, and report only the exposure index or attributable premature deaths. Little is known about the welfare implications of PM2.5 mortality for urban areas. In this study, we estimate the total cost of PM2.5 mortality, the benefit of its reduction achieved through meeting various air quality targets, and the benefit of mortality reduction achieved through a uniform 10 micrograms per cubic meter decrease in PM2.5 concentration in the urban areas of 300 major cities in the PRC. Significant heterogeneity exists in welfare indicators across rich versus poor and clean versus dirty cities. The results indicate that cities in the PRC should accelerate the fine particulate pollution control process and implement more stringent air quality targets to achieve much greater mortality reduction benefits.

Keywords: benefit valuation; integrated exposure-response model; mortality risks; People's Republic of China; PM2.5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D61 I18 Q51 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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