COSTS AND BENEFITS OF AIR-QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN HONG-KONG

A respiratory health survey conducted in Hang Kong in 1989 identified significant health differences between school age children living in a n industrial area with poor ambient air quality and those in a control group living in a relatively clean area. In 1990, the government bann ed the use of high sulphur fuel. As a result, ambient sulfur levels dr opped sharply and particulate levels dropped moderately. The avoided c osts of doctor consultations alone offset a moderate fraction of the c osts of this air quality improvement. If even the lower end of estimat es from elsewhere apply to Hang Kong's willingness to pay for symptom relief, such values offset a major share of the costs of the air quali ty improvement simply through near-term improvements in health. Consid ering longer-term health and other benefits leads one to conclude that the economic benefits likely far outweigh the costs.