average, the affected members suffered at least half a month from such problems
and had to spend INR 300–500 per household on medicine. In addition, there were
few examples where a family member had to be hospitalized for three to four days
and additional expenditure was incurred. On an average, households spent around
more than INR 1000 on the nonchronic respiratory diseases like coughing, difficulty
in breathing, irregular heartbeat, itching in eyes, decreased lung function, etc.,
during the year 2008–09. However, out of this total expenditure, around 40–50 %
was spent during the months of October and November during the time of crop
stubble burning. There was an additional cost in terms of household members
remaining absent from work due to illness.
We find that total annual welfare loss in terms of health damages due to air
pollution caused by the burning of rice straw in rural Punjab amounts to INR
76 millions. These estimates could be much higher if expenses on averting activities, productivity loss due to illness, monetary value of discomfort, and utility
could also be considered. There is additional monetary cost of burning to the
farmers in terms of additional fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation. One also needs to
add the losses of soil nutrient, vegetation, bio-diversity, and accidents caused
because of low visibility.
Acknowledgements This paper is part of a larger study, Policy instruments to address air pollution issues in agriculture—Implications for Happy Seeder technology adoption in India. The
project was funded by the Australian Council of International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
References
Alberini, A., & Krupnick, A. (2000). Cost of illness and willingness to pay estimates of the
benefits of improved air quality: Evidence from Taiwan. Land Economics, 76, 37–53.
Chesnut, L. G., Ostro, B. D., & Vichit-Vadakan, N. (1997). Transferability of air pollution control
health benefits estimates from the United States to developing countries: Evidence from the
Bangkok study. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 79, 1630–1635.
Cropper, M., Simon, N. B., Alberini, A., Seema, A., & Sharma, P. K. (1997). The health benefits of
air pollution control in Delhi. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 79(5), 1625–1629.
Dockery, D. W., Pope, C. A., Xu, X., Spengler, J. D., Ware, J. H., Fay, M. E., et al. (1993). An
association between air pollution and mortality in six US cities. New England Journal of
Medicine, 329(4), 1753–1808.
Gadde, B., Bonnet, S., Menke, C., & Garivait, S. (2009). Air pollutant emissions from rice straw
open field burning in India Thailand and the Philippines. Environmental Pollution, 157,
1554–1558.
Gerking, S., & Linda, R. S. (1986). An economic analysis of air pollution and health: The case of
St Louis. Review of Economics and Statistics, 68, 115–121.
Gupta, U. (2008). Valuation of urban air pollution: A case study of Kanpur city in India.
Environmental and Resource Economics, 41, 315–326.
Harrington, W., Krupnick, A. J., & Spofford, W. O. (1989). The economic losses of waterborne
disease outbreak. Journal of Urban Economics, 25, 116–137.
Kumar, S., & Rao, D. N. (2001). Valuing benefits of air pollution abatement using health
production function: A case study of Panipat thermal power station India. Environmental and
Resource Economics, 20, 91–102.
312
S. Kumar and P. Kumar
and had to spend INR 300–500 per household on medicine. In addition, there were
few examples where a family member had to be hospitalized for three to four days
and additional expenditure was incurred. On an average, households spent around
more than INR 1000 on the nonchronic respiratory diseases like coughing, difficulty
in breathing, irregular heartbeat, itching in eyes, decreased lung function, etc.,
during the year 2008–09. However, out of this total expenditure, around 40–50 %
was spent during the months of October and November during the time of crop
stubble burning. There was an additional cost in terms of household members
remaining absent from work due to illness.
We find that total annual welfare loss in terms of health damages due to air
pollution caused by the burning of rice straw in rural Punjab amounts to INR
76 millions. These estimates could be much higher if expenses on averting activities, productivity loss due to illness, monetary value of discomfort, and utility
could also be considered. There is additional monetary cost of burning to the
farmers in terms of additional fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation. One also needs to
add the losses of soil nutrient, vegetation, bio-diversity, and accidents caused
because of low visibility.
Acknowledgements This paper is part of a larger study, Policy instruments to address air pollution issues in agriculture—Implications for Happy Seeder technology adoption in India. The
project was funded by the Australian Council of International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
References
Alberini, A., & Krupnick, A. (2000). Cost of illness and willingness to pay estimates of the
benefits of improved air quality: Evidence from Taiwan. Land Economics, 76, 37–53.
Chesnut, L. G., Ostro, B. D., & Vichit-Vadakan, N. (1997). Transferability of air pollution control
health benefits estimates from the United States to developing countries: Evidence from the
Bangkok study. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 79, 1630–1635.
Cropper, M., Simon, N. B., Alberini, A., Seema, A., & Sharma, P. K. (1997). The health benefits of
air pollution control in Delhi. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 79(5), 1625–1629.
Dockery, D. W., Pope, C. A., Xu, X., Spengler, J. D., Ware, J. H., Fay, M. E., et al. (1993). An
association between air pollution and mortality in six US cities. New England Journal of
Medicine, 329(4), 1753–1808.
Gadde, B., Bonnet, S., Menke, C., & Garivait, S. (2009). Air pollutant emissions from rice straw
open field burning in India Thailand and the Philippines. Environmental Pollution, 157,
1554–1558.
Gerking, S., & Linda, R. S. (1986). An economic analysis of air pollution and health: The case of
St Louis. Review of Economics and Statistics, 68, 115–121.
Gupta, U. (2008). Valuation of urban air pollution: A case study of Kanpur city in India.
Environmental and Resource Economics, 41, 315–326.
Harrington, W., Krupnick, A. J., & Spofford, W. O. (1989). The economic losses of waterborne
disease outbreak. Journal of Urban Economics, 25, 116–137.
Kumar, S., & Rao, D. N. (2001). Valuing benefits of air pollution abatement using health
production function: A case study of Panipat thermal power station India. Environmental and
Resource Economics, 20, 91–102.
312
S. Kumar and P. Kumar