Value of Environmental Health Risks in China

     In the United States, we can place a return value on environmental regulations. As pollution related illness and death increase, the affected individuals can no longer contribute to the economy. When environmental regulations are implemented, they can change this value. If the number of people that will be able to contribute to the economy after the bill is high enough to offset the cost of the bill, it is more likely to be implemented. In China, individual income is much lower than in the United states, so environmental regulations in China are less likely to pay off.

    The median household income in the United States is around $43,000, so if a household were to die from a pollution based illness, the US economy would lose that contribution. China's annual disposable income is much lower on a individual basis. When implementing environmental regulations, it takes fewer affected individuals to pay off a bill in the United States than it does in China. For this reason, China's attention to environmental issues has been put on the backburner until recently. The lower disposable income per household in China also means that individuals are less likely to spend their money on health concerns. 

    In 2013, China implemented their first air pollution control act. The inability of their citizens to invest personal finances into the problem led to serious air quality issues that finally presented a financial burden on Chinas economic system. The edge was reached where improved health of the population would increase wealth enough to offset the cost to implement the plan and China spent 1.8 trillion dollars on the issue.