Dr. Yihua Yu recently had a paper published in the Environmental Science and Pollution Research. The paper titled‘Air pollution, social engagement and subjective well‑being: evidence from the Gallup World Poll’, was coauthored with Xue Xia and Yuhan Zou from School of Applied Economics, Renmin University of China.

Abstract

The link between air pollution and individual happiness is widely documented. However, the role of social engagement in pollution reduction is seldom considered in the nexus. As such, using large individual-level data from the Gallup World Poll of 151 countries for 2005–2018, this study applies a pooled cross-sectional data approach (controlling for country and year fxed efects) to examine the impact of air pollution on individual happiness and the role of social engagement in shaping the pollution-happiness relationship. The key fndings of this study reveal that better air quality raises personal subjective well-being, given that the coefcient of individuals’ perceived air quality is positive and statistically signifcant. More importantly, social engagement in pollution reduction is found to play an important moderating role in shaping the pollution-happiness relationship. Moreover, using a series of robustness checks, such as applying an alternative measure of happiness, an alternative measure of air quality (objective air quality), and using an instrumental variable estimation approach, confrms the positive efect of air quality (perceived or objective) on improving individuals’ happiness and the moderating role of social engagement. Furthermore, this study reveals that diferent demographic characteristics (i.e., age, sex, income, marital status, and urban/rural residence) respond diferently to the adverse efects of air pollution and the moderating role of social engagement in pollution reduction. Thus, some policies can be revised and proposed in light of the novel fndings of social engagement. In particular, the government should take an active role in combating air pollution and improving air quality by increasing fnancial input and strengthening environmental protection publicity. The limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Other information

Publication Date:2022

Journal:Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Journal Issue: 29（2022）

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19451-0

Read the paper here.