Measuring the wellbeing and health impacts of sewage odour

Daniel Fujiwara, Iulian Gramatki and Kieran Keohane

Chapter 12 in Handbook on Wellbeing, Happiness and the Environment, 2020, pp 225-244 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The location of necessary public works, such as sewage treatment or waste disposal, produce negative externalities for the surrounding population. It is now possible to quantify the negative associations between odour from sewage treatment works (STWs) and the self-reported wellbeing of individuals. This chapter analyses the association between geographical proximity to sewage treatment works and subjective wellbeing (SWB). It controls for a range of factors, including the size of the plant, the presence of odour reduction technologies, and relevant individual covariates such as age, employment status, marital status and others. The study finds that living close to an odour-emitting STW is negatively correlated with life satisfaction. This implies that people would be willing to forgo part of their income in exchange for reductions in odour. The results may be an indication of a negative impact of sewage odour on people’s quality of life, although causality is not guaranteed.

Keywords: Economics and Finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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