Information, migration, and the value of clean air

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gao, Xuwen; Song, Ran; Timmins, Christopher
• 署名单位: Zhejiang University; National University of Singapore; Duke University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103079
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: information; migration; particulate matter; Rosen-Roback; Compensating differential

摘要

Using a variant of the Rosen-Roback model of inter-city migration that incorporates public access to air quality information, we demonstrate that information constraints create a wedge between revealed and true hedonic prices for pollution that depends upon individuals' perception biases. We empirically test our theoretical pre-dictions by leveraging the unexpected disclosure of PM2.5 data in China. We find that migration decisions become much more responsive to pollution and that the hedonic price of avoiding PM2.5 exposure nearly doubles - from 171 to 336 Chinese Yuan - in response to the information shock. Our results highlight the role of imperfect information in migration decisions and its impact on non-market valuation in countries where public access to information is restricted.