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  4. May 2021
  5. Indoor Air Quality, Information, and Socioeconomic Status: Evidence from Delhi

Indoor Air Quality, Information, and Socioeconomic Status: Evidence from Delhi

  • Michael Greenstone
  • Kenneth Lee
  • Harshil Sahai
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 111, May 2021
(pp. 420-24)
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Abstract

In Delhi, one of the world's most polluted cities, there is relatively little information on indoor air pollution and how it varies by socioeconomic status (SES). Using indoor air quality monitors (IAQMs), we find that winter levels of household air pollution exceed World Health Organization standards by more than 20 times in both high- and low-SES households. We then evaluate a field experiment that randomly assigned monthlong IAQM user trials across medium- and high-SES households but suffered from significant survey non-response. Among respondents, IAQMs did not affect take-up of subsidized air purifier rentals or other defensive behavior.

Citation

Greenstone, Michael, Kenneth Lee, and Harshil Sahai. 2021. "Indoor Air Quality, Information, and Socioeconomic Status: Evidence from Delhi." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 420-24. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211006

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • Q53 Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
  • D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
  • O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
  • O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration