The impact of air pollution on subjective wellbeing

Presenter: Sarah Knight, University of York

Author: Sarah Knight

Improving human health and wellbeing is a governmental priority globally. The World Health Organisation defines health as a ‘state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease’. According to the European Environmental Agency, air pollution from industry costs Britain £3.4bn-£9.5bn a year in health and environmental damage. This project examines the relative contribution of the physical environment, specifically air quality, on self-reported quality of life. The subjective wellbeing (SWB) measures in the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and Understanding Society were spatially linked with detailed UK air pollution records held by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. These historical records hold ambient annual pollutant levels for the UK between 2001 and 2012, and include levels of respirable suspended matter (diameter smaller than 10 and 2.5 micrometres) as PM10 and PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone and benzene. Econometric analysis was then employed to identify the effect of air quality on subjective wellbeing, accounting for social and economic factors, and to address endogeneity concerns we use an instrumental variables approach. Early results indicate that pollution has a negative impact on SWB. This has significance for health, wellbeing and environmental policy-making. Further analysis will explore if there are geographies and/or demographics that are more affected by changes in air quality.