How Much Do People Value Clean Air? - A Case Study From Jakarta

Poor air quality in Indonesia's capital city is having a significant impact on residents' health and there is an urgent need to introduce new initiatives to deal with the problem. To help justify investment in such new strategies, this study has looked at the value that citizens in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area (JMA) place on pollution reduction policies for the transportation sector. The study shows that, although many residents are mistrustful of the government's ability to clean up the city's air, the do place a significant value on clean air. Households in the JMA are, on average, willing to pay up to USD 66.51 per annum over three-year period for the implementation of three new environmentally-beneficial transportation policies. These policies would make a significant positive improvement to both Jakarta's air quality and to the health of its citizens. The study uses the choice modeling approach in its assessment. The study carefully crafted the questionnaire to suit local conditions (a population with low literacy and have high dependency on oral than written communication) which are typical in developing countries.