Valuation of urban air pollution: a case study of Kanpur city in India

This study estimates the monetary benefits to individuals from health damages avoided as a result on reductions in air pollution in the urban industrial city of Kanpur in India. A notable feature of this study is that it uses data from weekly health-diaries collected for three seasons. For measuring monetary benefits, the study considers two major components of health cost — the loss in wages due to workdays lost and the expenditure incurred on mitigating activities. The study estimates that a representative individual from Kanpur would gain Rs 165 per year if air pollution was reduced to a safe level. The extrapolated annual benefits for the entire population in the city are Rs 213 million