Effect of ambient air quality on subjective well-being among Chinese working adults

Abstract

Abstract In the context of rapid urbanization and climate change in China, it is especially important to understand the effects of air quality on the subjective well-being of working adults because of their prolonged exposure to air pollutants. This study examines the relationship between ambient air pollutant emission levels and the subjective well-being of working adults using multilevel regression models based on a multilevel matching dataset formulated from the 2016 China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey, the 2016 China City Statistical Yearbook, and the 3rd-Quarter 2016 air pollution index released by the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre. In particular, we examine whether these air pollutants affect subjective well-being and compare the results by age, population density, and regional settings in China. The results show that increased CO emissions compromise the happiness of working adults (β\xa0=\xa0−0.1574, p