School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221000, China.
Center for Environmental Management and Economics Policy Research, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Dec;27(34):43299-43311. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-10255-8. Epub 2020 Jul 31.
Previous papers that study the relationship between air pollution and happiness have not paid much attention to subjective air pollution. This paper attempts to explore the influence of subjective air pollution on happiness, the heterogeneity of the effects, and people's subjective willingness for improving air quality. We match the data of Chinese General Social Survey with local air quality and mainly based on the method of regression discontinuity. Our study shows that the public's subjective air pollution perception has significant negative effects on their happiness. The negative effects on happiness of unhealthy people and middle-aged/old people are greater than that of healthy people and young people. Moreover, residents who are relatively vulnerable to the harm of air pollution appear to be more willing to pay for the improvement of air quality. These results indicate that in order to improve air quality more rationally and effectively, not only should the government concentrate on the improvement of objective air quality but also pay attention to the public's subjective feelings, as well as taking the subjective needs of local residents into consideration in the process of air pollution control.
先前研究空气污染与幸福感之间关系的文献往往没有过多关注主观空气污染。本文试图探讨主观空气污染对幸福感的影响、其影响的异质性，以及人们对改善空气质量的主观意愿。我们将中国综合社会调查的数据与当地空气质量相匹配，并主要基于回归间断点方法进行研究。研究结果表明，公众对主观空气污染的感知对其幸福感有显著的负面影响。对不健康人群和中老年人幸福感的负面影响大于对健康人群和年轻人的负面影响。此外，相对更容易受到空气污染伤害的居民似乎更愿意为改善空气质量支付费用。这些结果表明，为了更合理、更有效地改善空气质量，政府不仅应集中精力改善客观空气质量，还应关注公众的主观感受，并在空气污染控制过程中考虑当地居民的主观需求。
