Purpose This study aims to investigate how air pollution affects preventive expenditures (designed to avoid health risks) and curative expenditures (to address health issues). Additionally, it examines how local pollution awareness moderates these effects. Design/methodology/approach Using a dataset containing daily-level sales, air quality and search query data to proxy for local pollution awareness in seven cities over 304 days, this research employs panel data analyses to test the hypotheses. Findings Air pollution increases both preventive and curative expenditures. Its impact on the former intensifies with high local awareness, while awareness levels do not affect the latter. Air pollution also indirectly reduces future curative purchases via preventive purchases; local pollution awareness moderates this indirect effect. Originality/value This study provides a nuanced understanding of the health and economic costs associated with air pollution by distinguishing between preventive and curative expenditures. It highlights the critical role of local pollution awareness in shaping preventive behavior while emphasizing the importance of environmental communication and health literacy in mitigating air pollution's broader impacts.
Liu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.