Willingness to pay to control PM_2.5 pollution in Jing-Jin-Ji Region, China

ABSTRACT

This letter aims to study individual willingness to pay (WTP) to mitigate PM_2.5 pollution in the Jing-Jin-Ji region by using contingent valuation method. Our survey indicated that residents in this region were highly concerned about PM_2.5 pollution control and supported PM_2.5 pollution control policies. In this study, a payment card (PC) format is used to elicit residents’ perceived WTP. With a two-part model, we estimate the mean WTP for an 80% reduction of severe PM_2.5 polluting days in this region is 602 CNY a year, approximately accounts for 1% of the GDP per capita. This result indicates an important funding source for the government to control PM_2.5 pollution in the region. In the econometric analysis, the mean WTP is found to significantly relate with income, expense, age and education level. It decreases with income, age and educational level, but increases with expense, and it is higher for females, people who have children, own cars and apartments but lower for those having larger families. By comparing with relevant researches, this letter indicates a strong and ever-increasing WTP for air pollution control among residents in the Jing-Jin-Ji region, China.

KEYWORDS:

• Willingness to pay
• contingent valuation method
• PM_2.5 pollution control
• air quality
• Jing-Jin-Ji region

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• Q53
• Q52
• Z18

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ According to WHO (2006), the criterion of the Interim Target-1 is PM_2.5 = 35 μg/m³. This annual mean PM_2.5 concentration level is associated with approximately 15% greater long-term mortality risk relative to the Air Quality Guideline (AQG) level, which equals to 10 μg/m³.

² According to NBS (2015).

³ According to the Fifth National Census in China, the average age of the Chinese population is about 32.48 years old.

⁴ According to the World Bank Data, the GDP per capita of Sweden is 36,816 international dollars multiplied by the exchange rate, $1 = 9.16 SEK, which produced 337,234.56 SEK in 2000.