Essays on Environmental Economics

This dissertation presents four essays in environmental economics. They address issues of environmental economics from microeconomic and program evaluation perspectives. The first essay study examines the “Clean Air Works” program on ozone concentration levels, which is operating in Charlotte area of North Carolina State. A quadruple Differences (DDDD) estimator is applied. In both cases, we find reduction in groundlevel ozone levels and improvement of the air quality in the treatment group where the “Clean Air Works” program is implemented. The second essay examines the effectiveness of the vanpool programme on traffic volume, which was introduced in 2006 in York County of South Carolina State. A quadruple Differences-in-Differences (DDDD) model is applied. We find that smog alerts and the change in the ozone warning threshold in association with vanpool program lead to significant traffic volume decrease in York County. The third essay examines the relationship between air pollution and recycling using panel data from a waste municipality survey in the state of Massachusetts during the period 2009-2012. The findings support that a negative relationship between recycling rate and particulate particles in the air of 2.5 micrometres or less in size (PM2.5) is present. This study explores the willingness to pay for (reducing) pollution in the UK. The Life Satisfaction Approach (LSA) is employed and the estimates are based on data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). The effects of air pollution on individuals’ happiness are estimated and their monetary value is calculated. In particular, four air pollutants are examined; sulphur dioxide (SO2), ground-level ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxides (NOX) and carbon monoxide (CO). The annual monetary values for ground level ozone range between £588-£864 for a drop of one standard deviation, while the respective values for the other air pollutants range between £288-£696.