Air pollution and anti-social behaviour: Evidence from a randomised lab-in-the-field experiment
Paul M Lohmann1, Elisabeth Gsottbauer2, Jing You3
1El-Erian Institute of Behavioural Economics and Policy, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK; Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, UK.
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|January 21, 2023
Summary
This study found no significant link between acute air pollution and anti-social behavior in Beijing. However, pollution did negatively impact psychological and physiological well-being, though these effects were not statistically significant after adjustments.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Public Health
Background:
- Growing concerns link environmental factors to human behavior.
- Previous research often relies on correlational data, limiting causal inference.
- Understanding the impact of acute air pollution on social conduct is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the causal relationship between acute air pollution and anti-social behavior.
- To assess the effects of air pollution on psychological and physiological well-being.
- To explore potential mediating pathways, such as cognitive abilities and risk aversion.
Main Methods:
- A pre-registered, randomized lab-in-the-field online experiment in Beijing, China.
- Exploited natural pollution variations to exogenously manipulate pollution exposure.
- Utilized incentivized economic games to measure anti-social behavior and secondary outcomes.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant effect of acute air pollution on anti-social behavior was detected.
- Significant reductions in psychological and physiological well-being were observed, but not after multiple testing adjustments.
- No evidence found for pollution impacting cognitive ability, present bias, discounting, or risk aversion.
Conclusions:
- Acute air pollution does not appear to causally influence anti-social behavior in this experimental setting.
- While well-being was affected, the findings underscore the need for robust experimental designs.
- The study emphasizes the importance of pre-registered experiments for reliable causal insights into pollution-behavior links.
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