Economic Benefit of Air Quality Improvement During Implementation of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in Beijing

Abstract

Air quality in Beijing has been improved significantly since the implementation of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan ('Action Plan'). To evaluate the effect of the Action Plan, the cost-of-illness, human capital, and market value approaches were used to estimate air quality improvement benefits including human health, agriculture, building materials, and cleanliness. The policy benefit through monetization was also evaluated, which can affirm the positive effect of air pollution prevention and control by local government. The results illustrated that:① Since the policy implementation, air quality in Beijing has improved significantly and the improvement efficiency had been growing steadily. From 2013 to 2017, air quality had reached -1.982, -1.893, 15.707, 15.264, and 22.330 billion yuan respectively, accounting for -0.85‰, -0.81‰, 6.68‰, 6.16‰, and 8.77‰ of GDP in the fiscal year. The total profit during the five years was 49.426 billion yuan, accounting for 4.11‰ of the 5-year total GDP; ② The total improvement benefit was mainly linked to reductions in health and cleaning costs, primarily associated with a reduction in particulate matter concentrations; and ③ The majority of 16 administrative regions in Beijing reached an ideal level of benefit during the late stages of policy implementation, including Yanqing, Miyun, Pinggu, Changping, Tongzhou, Shijingshan, and Chaoyang Districts, which have retained a positive improvement index for five years. In contrast, Chaoyang and Haidian Districts have benefited relatively little as a result of the exposure of high-density populations to atmospheric pollution. These research results demonstrate the effectiveness and necessity of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in Beijing.