This study uses “big” data to empirically investigate a highly effective, but underexamined way of reducing one’s exposure toward air pollution—short-term travel. We determine subscribers’ locations using mobile phones’ signals and thereby establish linkages between air pollution and short-term population movements between cities in China.

In this study we examine whether and why preferences for environmental quality improvements depend on current quality. We conducted contingent valuation surveys over the course of a year in Nanjing, China, and find that the willingness to pay for future air quality improvements increases by 0.693% for every 1% increase in the current PM2.5 level. Therefore, the issue of "when" a valuation study is conducted has important implications for the estimation of benefits, and further deserves consideration when applying benefit transfer methods.

To cope with the stricter environmental regulation, manufacturing firms need to carry out pollution reduction activities and change their optimal production decisions, which may affect their labor demand.

This study examined the causal relationship between air pollution and labor productivity, by adopting prison factory data for a perfect measure of labor productivity. To address the endogeneity of air pollution, an instrumental variable strategy was used. The results showed that a 10-unit increase in air pollution index led to a significant decrease in labor productivity by 4%.