Smog and Nanjing Citizens: a Contingent Valuation

The overall objective of the research is to find out to what extent air pollution affects the lives of the residents of Nanjing, China. We are going to use a well-known method in economics, the contingent valuation, to study the willingness to pay of the inhabitants of this city, for a reduction of air pollution (PM2.5). The willingness to pay of every survey respondent will be paired with data on their level of exposure to such pollution on a daily basis. We are hoping to find a positive correlation between both variables; individuals who are exposed to a higher concentration of PM2.5 would therefore value air quality more than others who are less exposed. Studies on the level of exposure to PM2.5 and on willingness to pay for air quality have been done in the past, but no study has combined both. The results of this project could potentially help environmental economists understand better the decision mechanisms behind attribution of a value for a non-market resource

Faculty Supervisor:

Jie He

Student:

Partner:

Nanjing University

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Education

University:

Université de Sherbrooke

Program: