Air pollution exposure and donation to its victims: Evidence from online charitable giving

Abstract

This study examines the role of charitable giving in mitigating environmental damages. We study donations to the potential victims of air pollution—particularly patients with respiratory diseases—when donors are exposed to varying levels of air pollution. Using unique data from a major online medical crowdfunding platform in China, our empirical design compares the differential impact of air pollution exposure on donations across different disease categories. Our findings indicate that a one-standard-deviation increase in ambient PM_2.5 exposure leads to a significant 20.8 % increase in donations toward respiratory disease patients relative to non-respiratory disease patients. We further provide evidence that these effects are unlikely to be driven by information exposure to air pollution, consistent with the interpretation that personal experience may play a role, though this mechanism is not directly observed or tested. For respiratory diseases, the charitable contributions induced by air pollution are quantitatively comparable to the additional medical expenses caused by air pollution.