Subjective Well-Being and Air Quality in Germany

Abstract

This paper analyses the relation between air quality and subjective well-being in Germany. Life Satisfaction (LS) data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) is connected with daily county pollution in terms of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) from 1998 to 2008. The assumed microeconometric happiness function is estimated considering individual time invariant effects. It is observed that O3 has a significant negative impact on life satisfaction. The estimated influence of current CO as well as NO2 is not significant. Moreover, I found that LS of people with environmental worries is more affected by ozone pollution. This was not the case for people with a bad health status. Using the marginal rate of substitution between income and air pollution, it is calculated that an increase of one µg/m 3 in daily average county O3 has to be compensated by an increase of e 11.33 in monthly net household income to hold an average individual's LS constant.

Impacts of Different Air Pollutants on Dining-Out Activities and Satisfaction of Urban and Suburban Residents

“…The higher the concentration of O 3 , the lower the dining-out satisfaction of suburban residents. These are consistent with the findings of other researchers [46], indicating that O 3 pollution not only reduces overall satisfaction with life, but also reduces the satisfaction of specific activities such as dining out. This result supports the hypothesis 2 that air pollution could reduce residents' dining-out satisfaction.…”

“…Exposure to a high concentration of O 3 results in cough, dyspnea, and weakened lung function [44,45]. Additionally, O 3 has a significant negative impact on life satisfaction, and people with environmental worries are more affected by O 3 pollution [46].…”

A psychophysical measurement on subjective well-being and air pollution

“…Subjective well-being (SWB) has attracted increasing attention from researchers and policymakers in recent decades 1–4 . For example, Bhutan officially established the gross national happiness (GNH) measure to legally replace the traditional economic policy goal of increased gross domestic product (GDP) 5 . Many developed countries are likely to consider SWB during planning processes and when assessing the impacts of policy decisions.…”

Bad Air Days: The Effects of Air Quality on Different Measures of Subjective Well-Being

“…Drawing on best practice from a number of sources (Levinson, 2012;Met Office, 2014;DEFRA, 2014;Brereton et al, 2008) we use modeled concentrations of PM 2.5 and PWCs from the 2011 census to link individuals to air pollution levels in a precise manner. We also incorporate a wide range of controls relating to the physical environment and other local area characteristics which previous literature suggests may affect SWB (Luechinger, 2009;Schmitt, 2013;Cuñado & De Gracia, 2013). In so doing, we find evidence that background particulate matter concentrations are negatively associated with all positive measures of SWB investigated, even when controlling for health.…”

“…Second, there is omitted variable bias. The existing literature suggests that air pollution is simultaneously determined by local characteristics, including weather, population density and economic activity (Levinson, 2012;Luechinger, 2009;Schmitt, 2013;Cuñado & De Gracia, 2013). These are characteristics which have also been shown to be associated with SWB.…”