Pollution
Paper Session
Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (PST)
- Chair: Joseph S. Shapiro, University of California-Berkeley
Correcting Consumer Misperceptions about CO2 Emissions
Abstract
Policy makers frequently champion information provisions about carbon impact on the premise that consumers are willing to mitigate their emissions but are poorly informed about how to do so. We empirically test this argument and reject it. We collect an extensive new dataset and find both large misperceptions of the carbon impact of different consumption behaviors and clear preferences for mitigation. Yet, in two separate experiments, we show that correcting beliefs has no effect on consumption in large representative samples. Our null results are well-powered and informative, as we target information for maximal impact. They call into question the potential of information policies to fight climate change.The Impacts of Wildfires on Household Purchasing Behaviors and Health Outcomes
Abstract
Global warming and climate change result in more frequent and severe wildfires. Wildfires pose direct threats to property and human life. They also cause widespread harmful smoke pollution. This paper studies households’ behavioral responses to wildfires and the impacts of fires and smoke on human health. We collect data on wildfires and smoke from 2006 to 2021 from the NOAA Satellite and Information Service and the predicted PM2.5 concentrations of the same period from the publicly available data from Childs et al. (2022) and combine them with the household-level data from Nielsen IQ.We first utilize the daily consumer goods purchase data from the Nielsen Consumer Panel (NCP) to understand household mitigation and adaptation strategies. We find evidence that households react to wildfires and smoke in proximity. Specifically, households tend to shop more on the day of the event and purchase more items to mitigate the health impacts of air pollution, such as air purifiers and face coverings. They avoid going out during the week after the fire or smoke starts. However, pre-event preparation is limited, presumably due to the challenge of accurately forecasting wildfires ahead of time.
Secondly, we merge the Nielsen Annual Ailments, Health, and Wellness Survey data with our main sample from the NCP to identify vulnerable households with pre-existing health conditions, such as asthma. We find these households take more precautions by shopping more on the day a fire starts. We also find suggestive evidence that these households start preparation earlier than healthy households. Intriguingly, compared to their healthy counterparts, vulnerable households avoid going out shopping less once the fire or smoke starts.
Finally, we investigate whether wildfires and smoke pollution hurt people’s health. We find a significant increase in the reported cases of depression and anxiety following exposure to dense wildfire smoke.
JEL Classifications
- Q5 - Environmental Economics