Air Quality Degradation: Can Economics Help in Measuring its Welfare Effects? A Review of Economic Valuation Studies

Koundouri, Phoebe and Kougea, Eva (2011): Air Quality Degradation: Can Economics Help in Measuring its Welfare Effects? A Review of Economic Valuation Studies. Published in: Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution (September 2011)

Abstract

Air quality affects human’s well being in various ways. Air providing the most important life-support function sustains human health and enables the existence of all ecosystems. Although clean air is considered to be a basic requirement for human health and well-being, economic development and population growth has resulted in a considerable deterioration of air quality. Human activities like the intensification of agriculture, industrialization, increasing energy use, the burning of fossil fuels and the increase in transportation have resulted to a rising cocktail of poisonous pollutants which impose many adverse effects on environment as a whole, our human health and life expectancy, ecosystems services, biodiversity, agricultural crops and building structures.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Air quality, degradation, welfare effects,economic valuation
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A13 - Relation of Economics to Social Values; D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q53 - Air Pollution ; Water Pollution ; Noise ; Hazardous Waste ; Solid Waste ; Recycling

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