Does air pollution affect employment quality?

Abstract

Employment quality has a significant impact on both individuals and society. In the context of severe air pollution, exploring the impact of air pollution on residents' employment quality is of great academic value and practical significance. This paper uses Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, utilizing data from the 2021 China General Social Survey (CGSS2021), to examine the impact of air pollution on employment quality. The empirical results show that air pollution has a significant negative effect on employment quality, and the results remain robust after controlling for other variables. To address potential endogeneity issues, this study uses the mean perceived air pollution excluding the individual's own response as an instrumental variable and applies the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method for estimation. In addition, the analysis of the mediating mechanism shows that air pollution affects employment quality by impacting health and happiness. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that employment quality varies among different groups based on gender, marital status, income, and education level. The research results suggest that efforts should be made to actively reduce air pollution and promote high-quality, full employment. This provides important references and valuable insights for promoting high-quality economic development and achieving employment growth.