The Effects on Well-Being of Investing in Cleaner Air in India

Warren C. Sanderson, Erich Striessnig, Wolfgang Schöpp, Markus Amann

    Publikation: Wissenschaftliche FachzeitschriftOriginalbeitrag in FachzeitschriftBegutachtung

    Abstract

    Over the past decade, India has experienced rapid economic growth along with increases in air pollution. We examine how policies for air pollution abatement affect well-being in this context by calibrating an overlapping-generations model of economic growth to the Indian experience from 1971 to 2001 and estimating the effects of policy alternatives on well-being for the period from 2010 to 2030. In particular, we focus on the effect of policies to reduce ambient fine particulates ({PM2.5)?which} are especially harmful to human health?on well-being, as quantified in the {UN?s} Human Development Index ({HDI).} Two of the three dimensions of this index are based on {GDP} per capita and life expectancy. Our model allows reductions in {PM2.5} to affect both. In particular, economic growth is affected negatively through the costs of the additional pollution control measures and positively through the increased productivity of the population. We consider three scenarios of {PM2.5} abatement, corresponding to no further control, current Indian and European legislation. The overall effect in both scenarios is that {GDP} growth is virtually unaffected, life expectancy is higher, and well-being, as measured by the {HDI} is improved. In India, air pollution abatement investments clearly increase well-being.
    OriginalspracheEnglisch
    FachzeitschriftEnvironmental Science and Technology
    DOIs
    PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 1 Nov. 2013
    • Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital

      Lutz, W. (Projektleitung), Bordone, V. (Forscher*in), Durham, R. E. (Forscher*in), Fuchs, R. (Forscher*in), Guimaraes Rodrigues, C. (Forscher*in), Loichinger, E. (Forscher*in), Raggl, A. (Forscher*in), Sauer, P. (Forscher*in) & Striessnig, E. (Forscher*in)

      1/01/111/12/99

      Projekt: Forschungsförderung

    Zitat