Impact of Urbanization on PM2.5-Related Health and Economic Loss in China 338 Cities

Abstract

According to the requirements of the Healthy China Program, reasonable assessment of residents’ health risks and economic loss caused by urban air pollution is of great significance for environmental health policy planning. Based on the data of PM2.5 concentration, population density, and urbanization level of 338 Chinese cities in the year of 2015, the epidemiological relative risk (RR) was adopted to estimate the negative health effects caused by exposure to PM2.5. Meanwhile, the Value of Statistical Life (VSL) and Cost of Illness (COI) methods were used to calculate economic loss. The results show that PM2.5 pollution remains serious in 2015, which brings about many people suffering from all kinds of fearful health problems especially premature death and related diseases. The mortality and morbidity increase dramatically, and the total direct economic loss related to PM2.5 pollution in 2015 was 1.846 trillion yuan, accounting for 2.73% of total annual GDP. In addition, there was a strong correlation between urbanization level and health risks as well as economic loss, which implies that people who live in highly urbanized cities may face more severe health and economic losses. Furthermore, 338 cities were divided into four categories based on urbanization level and economic loss, of which the key areas (type D) were the regions where an increase in monitoring and governance is most needed. In the process of urbanization, policy makers should pay more attention to health costs and regional differentiated management, as well as promote the construction of healthy cities more widely.

Is Pollution a Cost to Health? Theoretical and Empirical Inquiry for the World’s Leading Polluting Economies

“…Additionally, the results are alarming for the developing countries since they face increasing health expenditure through an increase in income which is obtained by further exploiting the environment. This supports the study by Diao et al [ 28 ] as well for a developing country, China. Hence, on the whole, countries should focus on reducing pollution to have a sustainable development in the long run.…”

“…Urbanization policies that aim at transforming the rural economy have also put a burden upon the health costs of countries. Diao et al [ 28 ] capture this issue and estimate the negative health effects caused by exposure to PM 2.5 , as an indicator of urban pollution, in 338 cities of China for the year 2015. They showed that PM 2.5 pollution remains high over the year, which causes many people to suffer from all kinds of serious health problems, especially premature death and related diseases leading to 2.73% decrease in GDP.…”

Health and related economic benefits associated with reduction in air pollution during COVID-19 outbreak in 367 cities in China

“…To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies assessing the health economic impacts due to the change in air pollution during COVID-19. Previous studies estimated the effect of heavy air pollution on economic development ( Diao et al, 2020 , Xie et al, 2016 ). While there are many economic costs from the pandemic (e.g., extra costs carried by the health service, loss of industry), the response to COVID also had economic benefits, including those that flowed from improved air quality.…”

Is Urbanization Good for the Health of Middle-Aged and Elderly People in China?—Based on CHARLS Data

“…Some scholars argue that urbanization adversely affects the health of residents [20,22]. Previous research has considered the negative health effects of single factors such as changes in environmental pollution [3,23], unhealthy lifestyles, and socioeconomic status [22] caused by urbanization. Among these factors, researchers reported that environmental pollution has the greatest influence on health.…”