Tax Payment, Social Contribution for Pollution Prevention and Happiness

Using data from the China part of the World Value Survey (WVS), this paper empirically studies the impact of air pollution on happiness, and further, the citizens’ willingness to pay (WTP) for pollution prevention and its determinants. The result confirms that air pollution significantly worsens happiness. Regarding he WTP, it is differentiated in the form of tax and social contribution. Contrary to the expectation that the air pollution level affects the WTP, the concern on the environment plays a bigger role in increasing the WTP. Besides, the WTP are shown significantly influenced by tax compliance incentives, trust in the government or environmental organizations, attitudes toward environmental protection responsibilities and the family income, which sheds light on effective environmental policy making and implementation.