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Alerts Work! Air Quality Warnings and Cycling

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony Heyes

    (Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON)

  • Nicholas Rivers

    (Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, ON)

  • Soodeh Saberian

    (Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, ON)

Abstract

Alert programs are central to strategies to reduce the health impacts of air pollution in many jurisdictions. Evidence that they work, however, is sparse - indeed the majority of published studies fail to find a significant impact of alerts on behavior. Alerts particularly seek to influence energetic cardio-vascular outdoor pursuits. This study is the first to use administrative data to show that alerts are effective in reducing participation in such a pursuit (namely cycle use in Sydney, Australia) and, to our knowledge, the first showing alerts to be effective in changing ANY behavior in a non-US setting. The behavioral responses are substantial, generally in the range of 14 to 35%. The results are robust to the inclusion of a battery of controls in various combinations, alternative estimation methods and non-linear specifications. We develop various sub-sample results and also find evidence of alert fatigue.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony Heyes & Nicholas Rivers & Soodeh Saberian, 2015. "Alerts Work! Air Quality Warnings and Cycling," Working Papers E1502E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ott:wpaper:e1502e
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Williams, Austin M., 2019. "Understanding the micro-determinants of defensive behaviors against pollution," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 42-51.
    4. Mariano J. Rabassa & Mariana Conte Grand & Christian M. García-Witulski, 2021. "Heat warnings and avoidance behavior: evidence from a bike-sharing system," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(1), pages 1-28, January.
    5. Tong Liu & Guojun He & Alexis Lau, 2018. "Avoidance behavior against air pollution: evidence from online search indices for anti-PM2.5 masks and air filters in Chinese cities," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(2), pages 325-363, April.
    6. Magali A. Delmas & Aanchal Kohli, 2020. "Can Apps Make Air Pollution Visible? Learning About Health Impacts Through Engagement with Air Quality Information," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 279-302, January.
    7. Morton, Craig, 2020. "The demand for cycle sharing: Examining the links between weather conditions, air quality levels, and cycling demand for regular and casual users," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    8. Wen Hsu & Bing-Fang Hwang & Chau-Ren Jung & Yau-Huo Jimmy Shr, 2021. "Can Air Pollution Save Lives? Air Quality and Risky Behaviors on Roads," Papers 2111.06837, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2021.
    9. Arthur J. Caplan, 2023. "Missing the Warning Signs? The Case of “Yellow Air Day” Advisories in Northern Utah," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(2), pages 479-522, June.
    10. Lusher, Lester & Ruberg, Tim, 2023. "Killer Alerts? Public Health Warnings and Heat Stroke in Japan," IZA Discussion Papers 16562, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Lohmann, Paul M. & Gsottbauer, Elisabeth & You, Jing & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2023. "Air pollution and anti-social behaviour: Evidence from a randomised lab-in-the-field experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    12. Zhang Hao & Qi Chenyue, 2021. "Impact of environmental and health consciousness on ecological consumption intention: The moderating effects of haze and self‐competence," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 1292-1305, December.
    13. Àlex Boso & Boris à lvarez & Christian Oltra & à lvaro Hofflinger & Arturo Vallejos-Romero & Jaime Garrido, 2019. "Examining Patterns of Air Quality Perception: A Cluster Analysis for Southern Chilean Cities," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, July.
    14. Luo, Rachel & Fan, Yichun & Yang, Xin & Zhao, Jinhua & Zheng, Siqi, 2021. "The impact of social externality information on fostering sustainable travel mode choice: A behavioral experiment in Zhengzhou, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 127-145.
    15. Ying Su & Chunyan Lu & Xiaoqing Lin & Lianxiu Zhong & Yibin Gao & Yifan Lei, 2020. "Analysis of Spatio-temporal Characteristics and Driving Forces of Air Quality in the Northern Coastal Comprehensive Economic Zone, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, January.
    16. Dong-Her Shih & Ting-Wei Wu & Wen-Xuan Liu & Po-Yuan Shih, 2019. "An Azure ACES Early Warning System for Air Quality Index Deteriorating," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-23, November.
    17. Panle Jia Barwick & Shanjun Li & Liguo Lin & Eric Zou, 2019. "From Fog to Smog: the Value of Pollution Information," NBER Working Papers 26541, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Quan-Hoang Vuong & Tam-Tri Le & Quy Van Khuc & Quang-Loc Nguyen & Minh-Hoang Nguyen, 2022. "Escaping from Air Pollution: Exploring the Psychological Mechanism behind the Emergence of Internal Migration Intention among Urban Residents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-22, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Information-based regulation; averting behavior; urban air quality; health impacts of air pollution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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