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Negotiating housing deal on a polluted day: Consequences and possible explanations

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  • Qin, Yu
  • Wu, Jing
  • Yan, Jubo

Abstract

The topic of air pollution has drawn considerable attention globally. In this paper, we examine the immediate effect of air pollution on a substantial decision, that is, a housing purchase. By linking housing purchasing behavior with the air quality in Beijing, we document market participants' behaviors unexplained by rational economic theories. Our main result suggests that the transaction prices on a severely polluted day are 0.65% higher than those of the days without pollution, other things being equal. This translates into approximately 3.51 million yuan daily increase based on the average transaction volume and price on a typical day in Beijing. The heterogeneity analysis further suggests that this effect is mostly driven by non-local and low income buyers. After ruling out rational explanations, we demonstrate that our empirical results are consistent with salience theory under weak assumptions.

Suggested Citation

  • Qin, Yu & Wu, Jing & Yan, Jubo, 2019. "Negotiating housing deal on a polluted day: Consequences and possible explanations," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 161-187.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:94:y:2019:i:c:p:161-187
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2019.02.002
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zengming Wu & Mengnan Zhu, 2022. "More air pollution control, less industrial land leasing? Empirical evidence from microland transactions," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(3), pages 647-658, April.
    3. Chen, Shiyi & Jiang, Lingduo & Liu, Wanlin & Song, Hong, 2022. "Fireworks regulation, air pollution, and public health: Evidence from China," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    4. Mei, Yingdan & Gao, Li & Zhang, Wendong & Yang, Feng-An, 2021. "Do homeowners benefit when coal-fired power plants switch to natural gas? Evidence from Beijing, China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    5. Yao, Yao & Li, Xue & Smyth, Russell & Zhang, Lin, 2022. "Air pollution and political trust in local government: Evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    6. Pham, Linh & Roach, Travis, 2023. "Particulate pollution and learning," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    7. Bonan, Jacopo & Cattaneo, Cristina & D'Adda, Giovanna & Tavoni, Massimo, 2023. "Daily Temperature and Sales of Energy-using Durables," RFF Working Paper Series 23-43, Resources for the Future.
    8. Lai, Wangyang & Song, Hong & Wang, Chang & Wang, Huanhuan, 2021. "Air pollution and brain drain: Evidence from college graduates in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Guo, Liwen & Cheng, Zhiming & Tani, Massimiliano & Cook, Sarah & Zhao, Jiaqi & Chen, Xi, 2022. "Air Pollution and Entrepreneurship," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1208, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Pan, Yinghao & Qin, Yu & Zhang, Fan & Zhu, Hongjia, 2022. "Acquiring land in cold winter: Consequences and possible explanations," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    11. Chew, Soo Hong & Huang, Wei & Li, Xun, 2021. "Does haze cloud decision making? A natural laboratory experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 132-161.
    12. Fan, Ying & Fu, Yuqi & Yang, Zan & Chen, Ming, 2023. "Search Frictions in Rental Markets: Evidence from Urban China," Working Paper Series 23/11, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance.
    13. Wenxia Zhao, 2020. "Effect of air pollution on household insurance purchases. Evidence from China household finance survey data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-11, November.
    14. Bellani, Luna & Ceolotto, Stefano & Elsner, Benjamin & Pestel, Nico, 2021. "Air Pollution Affects Decision-Making: Evidence from the Ballot Box," IZA Discussion Papers 14718, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    17. Zhonghua Huang & Xuejun Du, 2022. "Does air pollution affect investor cognition and land valuation? Evidence from the Chinese land market," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 50(2), pages 593-613, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Air pollution; Housing market; Salience; Relative thinking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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