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Pollution avoidance: Within and across category substitution

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  • Courty, Pascal
  • Liu, Dapeng

Abstract

Theater attendance responses to air pollution vary by theater type. Multiplex theaters benefit from increased attendance during periods of high pollution, often at the expense of smaller theaters. However, these effects do not balance out at the chain level—some theater chains see attendance gains, while others experience losses. Furthermore, the average absolute attendance response at the individual theater level is significantly larger than the overall average, indicating that prior studies that focus solely on aggregate demand vastly underestimate pollution avoidance.

Suggested Citation

  • Courty, Pascal & Liu, Dapeng, 2025. "Pollution avoidance: Within and across category substitution," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:59:y:2025:i:c:s1570677x25000814
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2025.101548
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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