Vanishing Happiness: How Does Pollution Information Disclosure Affect Life Satisfaction?

Abstract

The role of information in energy and environmental policies is receiving extensive attention. This paper examines the impact of pollution information on residents’ life satisfaction and its channels in China. A difference-in-difference (DID) approach is used to match China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data with information disclosure data to find the negative impact of PM2.5 information disclosure on residents’ life satisfaction. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the negative effects of information disclosure are more pronounced among young and middle-aged groups, residents with good physical conditions, higher education, higher income, and urban residents. The mechanism analysis indicates that the perception, avoidance, and envy effect are three important channels of influence. These findings provide some insights for public policy formulation aimed at enhancing the well-being of an entire population, such as paying attention to the psychological impact of policy implementation on different groups of people.