Agarwal, S., Ding, Y.H., Kuang, W.D., & Zhu, X. (2023). Are environmental punishments good news or bad news? Evidence from China. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 120 (102847), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2023.102847

This study investigates how the disclosure of environmental punishments influences housing prices in the context of rising public awareness of environmental issues. Examining data on firm-level environmental punishments and housing resale transactions in Beijing from January 2015 to December 2017, we observed a significant average price drop of 1.84% for houses located within 0.5 km of environmentally punished firms. The impact intensified with multiple environmental punishments and was more pronounced during heating seasons and national events. We identify three mechanisms explaining the effects of environmental punishments on housing prices: “information disclosure,” where the impact magnifies with public release and environmental information searching; “information dissemination,” revealing that negative effects decrease with distance and over time; and “health concern,” indicating stronger responses from older homebuyers and those with children compared to unmarried young homebuyers.

Agarwal, S., Tan, P.L., & Tan-Soo, J.S. (2023). Long-term effects of air pollution on Singapore’s national university admissions. Applied Economics Letters, 31(13), 1178-1183, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2023.2177586

In this research, we examine the lasting effects of being exposed to haze pollution on university admissions in Singapore. Using the individual-level data from all university applicants in Singapore between 1981 and 2015, we discovered that people who were exposed to haze while in the womb during the episodes in April 1977 and October 1983 had lower admission scores and were less likely to get into university compared to those not exposed to haze. These effects were more pronounced for females. However, for the haze episodes in October 1991, August to October 1994, and August to October 1997, which were even more severe pollution events, we did not find the same negative impacts. These results show that air pollution’s long-term effects can vary. While the effects of the first two episodes lingered over time, the later three episodes suggest that negative impacts might be reduced due to economic progress and protective measures.

Agarwal, S., Long, W., & Yang, Y. (2021). Impact of transboundary air pollution on service quality and consumer satisfaction. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 192, 357-380, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.10.002

This study investigates how air pollution in Singapore, stemming from forest fires in Indonesia, impacts both firm productivity and consumer satisfaction. We measured firm productivity in the private sector by examining subcategory review scores related to service quality, while consumer satisfaction was assessed through overall individual-level online review scores. Our findings indicate that when air quality declines due to haze, there is a noticeable dip in consumer satisfaction. However, as the haze clears, consumer satisfaction undergoes a significant recovery, remaining higher than pre-haze levels for approximately eight months. A deeper dive into the review data using sentiment analysis revealed that the decline in consumer satisfaction during hazy periods is more linked to changes in people’s mood rather than any decline in service quality.

Agarwal, S., Yu, Q,. Shi, L., Wei, G., & Zhu, H. (2021). Impact of temperature on morbidity: New evidence from China. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 109(102495), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102495

In this study, we investigate how temperature impacts hospitalization rates in China. Utilizing medical data from two major public insurance programs across 47 cities and 28 provinces over three years, we found that when the average temperature exceeds 27°C, there is a 7.3% increase in hospital admissions and a 2% increase in hospitalizations over the subsequent weeks compared to normal temperature days. This effect is more pronounced than what has been observed in developed countries. We also calculated the financial impact of these temperature-related hospitalizations. Each additional hot day in China results in about 2 billion yuan (roughly 0.3 billion US dollars) in increased medical expenses, with 1.9 billion yuan (about 0.29 billion US dollars) covered by the public insurance system and 0.2 billion yuan (approximately 0.01 billion US dollars) paid by insured individuals. In simple terms, our study shows that hot weather significantly increases hospitalizations and healthcare costs in China, with most of the cost burden placed on the public insurance system.