Health Benefit Evaluation Of Environmental Air Quality Improvement In Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

Air pollution is an important factor which endangers human health.With the improvement of people’s living standards,improving the ambient air quality and ensuring people’s physical and mental health have attracted increasing attention.Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has a large population,and it is also one of the regions with serious air pollution in China.Air pollution has a great impact on human health,and it is of great significance to evaluate the health benefits of improving ambient air quality in this region.Focusing on,two main air pollutants PM_2.5 and O₃ in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,the study constructs a health benefit evaluation model based on Contingent Valuation Method and designs two scenarios including air pollution control actions and air pollution control equipment using Multiple Bounded Discrete Choice elicitation technology under the goal of PM_2.5 and O₃ reaching the standard during the14th Five-Year Plan period.By investigating the residents’willingness to pay for air quality improvement in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region so as to protect their health from air pollution damage and analyzing the payment amount and factors affecting the residents’willingness.the study connects the payment amount and variables of the change of environmental health risk and disability-adjusted life year,calculates the value of statistical life and the monetization value of unit disability-adjusted life year and evaluates the health benefits of air quality improvement in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.The results of the study on willingness and amount of payment show that 61.46%of the respondents in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are willing to pay for the health benefits brought by air pollution control actions,and the average payment amount is243.01 yuan/person-month;75.45%of the respondents are willing to pay for the health benefits brought by air pollution control equipment,and the average payment amount is 285.50 yuan/person-month.The willingness to pay and the payment amount in the air pollution control equipment scenario are higher than those in the air pollution control action scenario.The more specific the design of the core question,the higher the respondents’willingness to pay.The most important reason why respondents refused to pay is that the control of air pollution should be the responsibility of the public sector.And the second most important reason is that air pollution victims should be compensated rather than paid for the pollution.The results of influencing factors analysis show that the respondents think that the influence of air pollution on health,the respondents’knowledge about the influence of air pollution on health,the respondents’evaluation of local pollution status as well as personal monthly income have a positive impact on the residents’willingness to pay in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,while the respondents’age has a negative impact on the residents’willingness to pay.The results of health benefit analysis show that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,the value of statistical life of health benefits brought by air pollution control actions is 35.56 million yuan/year,and the value of statistical life of health benefits brought by air pollution control equipment is 41.78million yuan/year;The monetary value of unit disability-adjusted life year obtained through air pollution control action is 812,300 yuan/year,and the monetary value of unit disability-adjusted life year obtained through air pollution control equipment is1,171,600 yuan/year.By exploring the health benefits of environmental air quality improvement in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region during the 14th Five-Year Plan period,we can promote the application of Contingent Valuation Method in the research of health benefits evaluation of regional environmental air quality improvement,and also provide reference for public departments to implement incentive air pollution control measures.In order to obtain more valuable research results,the future study can compare the effects of different elicitation techniques on the results to explore the compensation amount that residents expect to get for health damage caused by air pollution which is conducive to strengthen cooperation between different disciplines and obtain the health benefits of improving ambient air quality more comprehensively and accurately.There are several suggestions for relevant departments.First,strengthening publicity and education to improve the public’s understanding of the impact of air pollution on health knowledge.Second,choosing appropriate air pollution control measures according to local air pollution situation.Third,adopting measures comprehensively to make market-oriented incentive policies in order to improve the ambient air quality in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as well as the health and well-being of residents.