Seeing is Believing? The Role of a Dirty Sky on Public Environmental Opinions

• In Event: Public Opinion and the Environment in Global Context

Abstract

Environmental-related public opinion may depend on the severity of observed pollution. Previous studies identifying this contextual effect rely on altering people's "beliefs" on pollution level, such as utilizing exogenous events, or experimental design with varying hypothetical scenarios in surveys. The impact of real pollution variations on environmental-related public opinion are key, but empirical attention remains rare. Matching an original survey of around 2000 citizens of Beijing on multiple days in September 2016 and Jan 2017, we use seasonal, daily and hourly variations in air quality and weather data to investigate the causal impact of air pollution on several key dimensions, including a respondent's perceptions of air quality and health risks, stated averting behaviors, and desire for collective or individual action to address air pollution. We also show heterogeneous causal effects of air pollution on respondents' opinions in different seasonal and weather conditions. We contribute by showing the role of real context in survey-based opinion elicitation. We provide policy implication on contextual differentiated environmental risk communication and management.

Authors

• Yana Jin, College of William and Mary

• Harish S.P., College of William & Mary

• Daniel Maliniak, College of William & Mary

• Eric James Parajon, College of William and Mary