Willingness to Pay for Air Purifiers in Classrooms in Lahore

Air pollution remains a persistent problem in cities in low-and-middle-income countries leading to a loss in life expectancy (Fang and Greenstone, 2019), lower worker productivity (Adhvaryu, Kala and Nyshadham, 2022), and declining test scores (Bharadwaj et al., 2017). Given regulatory failures in improving ambient air quality (Greenstone & Hanna, 2014) there is an urgent need to explore defensive investments against air pollution. The economics of solving ambient air pollution mimic the classic problem of public goods. The researchers propose to examine the adoption of air purifiers in classrooms in low-cost private schools in Lahore typically attended by students from lower middle-income backgrounds. This project will tackle three questions. First, how much are households willing-to-pay for clean air (via air purifiers) in their children’s primary school classroom? Second, how does household WTP vary based on: (i) Potential benefit–child’s past performance, sickness, absence rates (non-random), (ii) Ability to pay–household wealth & income (non-random), and (iii) Provision of tailored information about potential benefits (randomized at the household level). Finally, we will explore the effect of improved air quality on student learning, as measured by grades and test scores, through both year-long and day-of-test exposure?