Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

Browse

Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.Air pollution

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Be nice to the air: Severe haze pollution and mutual fund risk
    (Elsevier Inc, 2023-11) Surva R; Nguyen H; Visaltanachoti N
    Motivated by the significant impacts of environmental risks on economic decisions and the increasing roles of mutual funds in financial markets in recent decades, this study examines the impact of ambient pollution on mutual funds’ risk outcomes. Using propriety data manually collected from several datasets, our fund fixed-effect regression estimates show that polluted air increases tracking errors and mutual fund return volatility. The adoption of different identification strategies, including instrumental variable estimations and difference-in-difference analyses based on two natural experiments, suggests the impact of air pollution on mutual funds’ risk is causal. Our findings suggest that air pollution harms fund managers’ cognitive abilities and impairs their investment efficiency, leading to an increase in mutual funds’ tracking errors and return volatility. Overall, our findings provide more insights into the impact of climate change on social behavior by shedding new light on the impact of air quality on asset managers’ behavior.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Volcanic air pollution and human health: recent advances and future directions
    (Springer Nature Switzerland AG on behalf of the International Association of Volcanology & Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, 2022-01) Stewart C; Damby DE; Horwell CJ; Elias T; Ilyinskaya E; Tomašek I; Longo BM; Schmidt A; Carlsen HK; Mason E; Baxter PJ; Cronin S; Witham C
    Volcanic air pollution from both explosive and effusive activity can affect large populations as far as thousands of kilometers away from the source, for days to decades or even centuries. Here, we summarize key advances and prospects in the assessment of health hazards, effects, risk, and management. Recent advances include standardized ash assessment methods to characterize the multiple physicochemical characteristics that might influence toxicity; the rise of community-based air quality monitoring networks using low-cost gas and particulate sensors; the development of forecasting methods for ground-level concentrations and associated public advisories; the development of risk and impact assessment methods to explore health consequences of future eruptions; and the development of evidence-based, locally specific measures for health protection. However, it remains problematic that the health effects of many major and sometimes long-duration eruptions near large populations have gone completely unmonitored. Similarly, effects of prolonged degassing on exposed populations have received very little attention relative to explosive eruptions. Furthermore, very few studies have longitudinally followed populations chronically exposed to volcanic emissions; thus, knowledge gaps remain about whether chronic exposures can trigger development of potentially fatal diseases. Instigating such studies will be facilitated by continued co-development of standardized protocols, supporting local study teams and procuring equipment, funding, and ethical permissions. Relationship building between visiting researchers and host country academic, observatory, and agency partners is vital and can, in turn, support the effective communication of health impacts of volcanic air pollution to populations, health practitioners, and emergency managers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Banning Diesel Vehicles in London: Is 2040 Too Late?
    (MDPI, 2019) Shammut, Moayad; Cao, Mengqiu; Zhang, Yuerong; Papaix, Claire; Liu, Yuqi; Gao, Xing
    Air pollution contributes to 9400 deaths annually in London and diesel vehicles are considered a major source of lethal air pollutants. Consequently, the UK government announced its intention to ban diesel vehicles by 2040 to achieve a sustainable zero-carbon road transport system. Since no empirical studies have used a bottom-up approach to seek Londoners’ views, it is therefore worth investigating the public opinion regarding this forthcoming ban. This paper aims to fill this research gap by taking London as a case study. A survey was designed, and fieldwork was conducted to distribute questionnaires to Londoners. Completed questionnaires were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings revealed that the majority of Londoners would be in favour of the ban if they were sufficiently exposed to the appropriate sources of information and were favourably disposed towards environmental protection measures. The results also showed that Londoners were more likely to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) if they were offered generous incentives and encouraged to use scrappage schemes. The present study makes a strong case for enforcing the ban well before 2040. The significance of this research is to provide clearer signals regarding the future of diesel vehicles, which in turn will strengthen the EV policy and uptake.