IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/osfxxx/92bst_v1.html

Strong demand for clean air policies in emerging markets and developing economies

Author

Listed:
  • Smith, E. Keith
  • Henninger, Ella
  • de Lauriere, Camille Fournier

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Koubi, Vally
  • Moolla, Raeesa
  • Beiser-McGrath, Liam F.
  • Bernauer, Thomas

Abstract

Air pollution is a leading health risk, especially in emerging markets and developing economies. Yet, it remains unclear whether citizens will demand mitigation, perceive it as a threat, or view poor air quality as a necessary part of development. Competing theories predict either strong or weak support, and cross-national evidence is scarce, particularly for measures of policy support. We surveyed 11,562 adults in four severely polluted cities — Accra, Delhi, Jakarta, and Johannesburg. Air quality was a highly prioritised issue, and overall levels of concern are very high. Majorities back six different mitigation proposals, including cost-salient measures such as stricter industrial limits, increasing household electrification, and expanding public transport. Concern, trust, and low behavioural control were the strongest predictors of support. People see air pollution, feel its effects, and want governments to act, even when action entails economic costs, challenging views of limited environmental demand in highly exposed, economically developing settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Smith, E. Keith & Henninger, Ella & de Lauriere, Camille Fournier & Koubi, Vally & Moolla, Raeesa & Beiser-McGrath, Liam F. & Bernauer, Thomas, 2025. "Strong demand for clean air policies in emerging markets and developing economies," OSF Preprints 92bst_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:92bst_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/92bst_v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/6864de66ae2fda113649ef65/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/92bst_v1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Bernauer & Quynh Nguyen, 2015. "Free Trade and/or Environmental Protection?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(4), pages 105-129, November.
    2. Fairbrother, Malcolm, 2019. "When Will People Pay to Pollute? Environmental Taxes, Political Trust and Experimental Evidence from Britain," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(2), pages 661-682, April.
    3. Joakim Kulin & Ingemar Johansson Sevä, 2021. "Who do you trust? How trust in partial and impartial government institutions influences climate policy attitudes," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 33-46, January.
    4. Christian Oltra & Roser Sala, 2018. "Perception of risk from air pollution and reported behaviors: a cross-sectional survey study in four cities," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(7), pages 869-884, July.
    5. Gibson, James L., 1997. "Mass Opposition to the Soviet Putsch of August 1991: Collective Action, Rational Choice, and Democratic Values in the Former Soviet Union," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 91(3), pages 671-684, September.
    6. Stern, David I., 2004. "The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1419-1439, August.
    7. Finkel, Steven E. & Muller, Edward N., 1998. "Rational Choice and the Dynamics of Collective Political Action: Evaluating Alternative Models with Panel Data," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 92(1), pages 37-49, March.
    8. Jun Rentschler & Nadezda Leonova, 2023. "Global air pollution exposure and poverty," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    9. E. Keith Smith & Dennis Kolcava & Thomas Bernauer, 2024. "Stringent sustainability regulations for global supply chains are supported across middle-income democracies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    10. Liliana Cori & Gabriele Donzelli & Francesca Gorini & Fabrizio Bianchi & Olivia Curzio, 2020. "Risk Perception of Air Pollution: A Systematic Review Focused on Particulate Matter Exposure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-27, September.
    11. Axel Franzen & Dominikus Vogl, 2013. "Acquiescence and the Willingness to Pay for Environmental Protection: A Comparison of the ISSP, WVS, and EVS," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 94(3), pages 637-659, September.
    12. Thomas Bernauer & Aseem Prakash & Liam F. Beiser‐McGrath, 2020. "Do exemptions undermine environmental policy support? An experimental stress test on the odd‐even road space rationing policy in India," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 481-500, July.
    13. Carina Cornesse & Annelies G. Blom, 2023. "Response Quality in Nonprobability and Probability-based Online Panels," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 52(2), pages 879-908, May.
    14. Dinda, Soumyananda, 2004. "Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 431-455, August.
    15. Hoffmann, Bridget Lynn & Scartascini, Carlos & Cafferata, Fernando G., 2022. "How can we improve air pollution? Try increasing trust first," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(5), pages 393-413, October.
    16. De Sio, Lorenzo & Weber, Till, 2014. "Issue Yield: A Model of Party Strategy in Multidimensional Space," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 108(4), pages 870-885, November.
    17. Gromping, Ulrike, 2007. "Estimators of Relative Importance in Linear Regression Based on Variance Decomposition," The American Statistician, American Statistical Association, vol. 61, pages 139-147, May.
    18. Adam Mayer & E. Keith Smith, 2019. "Unstoppable climate change? The influence of fatalistic beliefs about climate change on behavioural change and willingness to pay cross-nationally," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 511-523, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yılmaz Toktaş & Ali Altıner & Eda Bozkurt & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2025. "Assessing the EKC Hypothesis and the Impact of Environmental and Non-Environmental Goods Trade on Environmental Quality: Evidence from QRPD for OECD Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, December.
    2. Arsani Alina & Stefan George, 2024. "Energy Transition and European Sub-Models. Restructuring EU Economy," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 86-101.
    3. George S. Chen & Emmanuel Kwaku Manu & Dennis Asante, 2023. "Achieving environmental sustainability in Africa: The role of financial institutions development on carbon emissions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 3272-3290, October.
    4. Fujii, Hidemichi & Managi, Shunsuke, 2013. "Which industry is greener? An empirical study of nine industries in OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 381-388.
    5. Kaika, Dimitra & Zervas, Efthimios, 2013. "The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory. Part B: Critical issues," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1403-1411.
    6. Touitou Mohammed, 2021. "Empirical Analysis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve for Economic Growth and CO2 Emissions in North African Countries," Econometrics. Advances in Applied Data Analysis, Sciendo, vol. 25(2), pages 67-77, June.
    7. Yue, Shen & Munir, Irfan Ullah & Hyder, Shabir & Nassani, Abdelmohsen A. & Qazi Abro, Muhammad Moinuddin & Zaman, Khalid, 2020. "Sustainable food production, forest biodiversity and mineral pricing: Interconnected global issues," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Honma, Satoshi, 2012. "Environmental and economic efficiencies in the Asia-Pacific region," MPRA Paper 43361, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Sebri, Maamar, 2009. "La Zone Méditerranéenne Face à la Pollution de L’air : Une Investigation Econométrique [The Mediterranean Zone in front of Air pollution: an Econometric Investigation]," MPRA Paper 32382, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Daniel Fiorino, 2011. "Explaining national environmental performance: approaches, evidence, and implications," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 44(4), pages 367-389, November.
    11. Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Montini, Anna & Zoboli, Roberto, 2006. "Municipal Waste Production, Economic Drivers, and 'New' Waste Policies: EKC Evidence from Italian Regional and Provincial Panel Data," Climate Change Modelling and Policy Working Papers 12053, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    12. C. Seri & A. de Juan Fernandez, 2021. "The relationship between economic growth and environment. Testing the EKC hypothesis for Latin American countries," Papers 2105.11405, arXiv.org.
    13. Tommaso Luzzati & Angela Parenti & Tommaso Rughi, 2017. "Spatial error regressions for testing the Cancer-EKC," Discussion Papers 2017/218, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    14. Zaman, Khalid & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Loganathan, Nanthakumar & Raza, Syed Ali, 2016. "Tourism development, energy consumption and Environmental Kuznets Curve: Trivariate analysis in the panel of developed and developing countries," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 275-283.
    15. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    16. Kanjilal, Kakali & Ghosh, Sajal, 2013. "Environmental Kuznet’s curve for India: Evidence from tests for cointegration with unknown structuralbreaks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 509-515.
    17. Chan, Ying Tung & Zhao, Hong, 2023. "Optimal carbon tax rates in a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with a supply chain," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    18. B. Venkatraja, 2021. "Does China exhibit any evidence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve? An ARDL bounds testing approach," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 1, pages 88-110,111-.
    19. Indra de Soysa, 2022. "Economic freedom vs. egalitarianism: An empirical test of weak & strong sustainability, 1970–2017," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 236-268, May.
    20. Ly, Alpha, 2025. "Scaling up renewables without phasing down fossil fuels? Rethinking the role of financial globalization," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:92bst_v1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://osf.io/preprints/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.