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Session Chair: Shreekant Gupta, University of Delhi
Location:Auditorium N: Agnar Sandmo
Presentations
Are there synergies and tradeoffs in sustainable heating from cleaner stoves and home insulation? Evidence from air pollution control policies in southern Chile
1Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland; 2Facultad de Economía y Negocios, Universidad de Talca, Chile; 3Departamento de Ingeniería Matemática, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile; 4Escuela de Administración y Negocios, Universidad de Concepción and Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Chile; 5Department of Economics, Portland State University, USA
Discussant: Qinqin Xiong (University of Birmingham)
We evaluate the effects of two subsidy-based air pollution control policies on the private benefits of sustainable home heating in southern Chile. These policies include the replacement of wood-fired heating stoves with more efficient and less polluting pellet stoves and the installation of thermal insulation to improve energy efficiency. Combining electronic stove surface temperature and air pollution monitoring with household surveys, we estimate the effects of these policies on indoor air quality, temperature, and household expenditures on fuel for heating. We find that pellet stoves improve indoor air quality, while insulation has no independent effect. However, the installation of insulation without a pellet stove increases household air pollution. Moreover, the installation of insulation offset almost half the air quality benefits provided by pellet stoves. Insulation results in households obtaining considerable cost savings, especially when the costs are high due to using the expensive fuels associated with pellet stoves. These findings suggest that important tradeoffs between cost and indoor air quality come into play when the two technologies are promoted in tandem.
Cleaner Skies Across Borders: The Impact of Centralized Air Monitoring in China
Qinqin Xiong, Robert J.R. Elliott, Michael Henry, Liyun Zhang
University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Discussant: Alexander Dangel (Heidelberg University)
This study investigates the impacts of centralized monitoring on cross-border air pol-
lution in China, utilizing the county-level satellite-derived PM2.5 data from 2013 to 2019.
Taking the centralization of air monitoring as a quasi-experiment, we employ a difference-
in-difference-in-differences (DDD) approach to assess changes in air pollution levels in
boundary counties following this intervention. Our results show a significant reduction in
boundary air pollution, with PM2.5 concentrations in border counties decreasing by 4 per-
cent (equivalent to 2,443μg/m3). The effect is more pronounced in border counties in the
eastern provinces, municipalities, and industrially intensive areas. Mechanism analysis in-
dicates that centralized air monitoring reduces the strategic distribution of industrial firms
near provincial borders and enhances the enforcement of environmental regulations, as ev-
idenced by an increase in the number of penalty cases of environmental violation. These
findings underscore the effectiveness of centralized monitoring in mitigating cross-border
air pollution and highlight the critical role in strengthening regulatory frameworks in the
context of environmental governance.
Mind the PM2.5 Gap! Comparing Exposure Data from Wearable Sensors and Ambient Monitors
Alexander Dangel1,2
1Heidelberg University, Germany; 2Heidelberg Center for the Environment
Discussant: Shreekant Gupta (University of Delhi)
Biases in pollution exposure estimates from conventional data sources could threaten the validity of existing health impact assessments and corresponding monetary damage estimates. To shed light on this, I construct a novel PM2.5 pollution dataset using over 45 million personal exposure readings collected by 594 consumer adopters of wearable air quality sensors in the United States. I then test for the existence and nature of a PM2.5 exposure gap between personal measurements and commonly-employed secondary data from ambient monitors. On average, personal exposure is between 7% and 18% less than monitor data suggests, while median differences correspond to nearly 40% less pollution. Moreover, my analysis reveals correlations between this PM2.5 gap and pollution levels, location, and temporal factors. Accounting for these discrepancies in the future would recalibrate existing damage functions and previous estimates of environmental policy benefits.
Discretionary Enforcement and Strategic Compliance: Experimental Evidence
Omer F. Baris1, Shreekant Gupta2, Eduardo Araral Jr.3
1Graduate School of Public Policy, Nazarbayev University; 2Centre for Social and Economic Progress; 3LKY School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
Discussant: Carlos Chavez Rebolledo (Universidad de Talca)
We conduct an experimental analysis of the strategic elements of the inspection-compliance game (e.g. between firms and environmental enforcement agencies). We extend the seminal binary-choice (2×2) inspection-compliance game played between an environmental enforcement agency and a firm to a 3 × 3 game in which both players have additional choices. We conducted the experiment (120 rounds) with 164 participants in three countries (India, Singapore and Kazakhstan). In our model, the Agency strategizes over the frequency and quality of inspections and the Firm strategizes over compliance behavior, by investing in non-inspectability in order to deter any inspection or getting caught by the Agency. The results from our laboratory evidence indicate that availability of strategic non-compliance options reduces overall level of compliance by the firms but increases total inspection although approximately one third of those inspections are just cursory.
