Air pollution is a growing concern to economies and societies worldwide. Despite common knowledge that air pollution impairs our emotions and cognition and hence behavioral outcomes, the impact of air pollution on consumer spending remains an open question. Analyzing air quality readings and individual-level credit card transactions in South Korea, this paper shows that consumers spend more money when air quality is poorer. This correlation is more prominent in hedonic categories, such as entertainment or leisure activities, where the nature of consumption is characterized by greater emotional benefits. The authors consider potential explanations, and the leading hypothesis is that consumers treat spending as a mood-regulating resource. The results survive an array of robustness checks and are supported in a controlled experiment, reinforcing a causal inference behind the main findings. The authors provide implications for stakeholders to develop a sustainable marketing program that not only pursues managerial interests but also concerns consumer welfare in the face of environmental change.

中文翻译：

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EXPRESS：空气污染对消费者支出的影响


空气污染日益受到全世界经济和社会的关注。尽管众所周知，空气污染会损害我们的情绪和认知，从而损害我们的行为结果，但空气污染对消费者支出的影响仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。本文通过分析韩国的空气质量读数和个人信用卡交易发现，当空气质量较差时，消费者会花更多的钱。这种相关性在娱乐或休闲活动等享乐类别中更为突出，这些类别的消费本质上表现为更大的情感收益。作者考虑了可能的解释，主要假设是消费者将支出视为情绪调节资源。结果通过了一系列稳健性检查，并得到对照实验的支持，强化了主要发现背后的因果推论。作者为利益相关者提供了制定可持续营销计划的建议，该计划不仅追求管理利益，而且在面对环境变化时也关注消费者福利。