Meenakshi Rishi
PhD; Professor, Department of Economics
Responding to the Cry of the Earth: Using Behavioral Economics to Assess Public Support for Improvements in Air Quality
Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental health threats, and the exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a critical public health issue in many regions of the world. Air pollution from coal-fired power plants is large and varied and contributes to a significant number of negative environmental and health effects. One of the goals of the goals of the Laudato Si Action Platform (LSAP) is to respond to the Cry of the Earth by adopting renewable energy and clean air policies that aim to reduce pollution from power plants. But little is known about public preferences for such environmental policies. This project will attempt to address this research gap by focusing on insights offered by Behavioral Economics. In particular, I plan to study the use of the Willingness to Pay (WTP) method to assess the optimality of existing environmental regulations concerning air pollution from coal fired power plants. These WTP estimates can provide guidelines for budgetary allocations for environmental policies.