Research Projects

An empirical perspective of the impact of air pollution on environmental inequality: Evidence from Indian metropolis

Abstract

The initiation of environmental inequality is fundamentally outcomes of the social dynamics of society and environmental degradation. On the other hand, the globalized character of risks along with their “democratizing” nature, made both poor and better-off exposed to a risk which produces a potential challenge doing empirical research on pollution. However, the growing concern over some groups with low socioeconomic status are exposed to more environmental hazards than the other groups. Therefore, it is important to identify the differential distribution of environmental hazards by social factors in order to reduce exposure among vulnerable groups and thereby effectively and equitably protect the health of the entire population. This paper aims to identify the dynamics of exposure-response in the urban settings of India. The study is based on two metropolises namely- Mumbai and Delhi. The rationale for selection of these two cities is based on their poor rankings in air quality globally and higher population density. The empirical evidence suggests the negative causal relationship between exposure to poor quality air and socio-economic positioning in the hierarchy of urban society. In addition to this, the existence of non-linearity is also traced in the exposure-response model. Further, the robustness of the evidence is proven through spline regression as the non-linearity could have affected the consistency of the exposure-response model. The spline regression also provides similar evidence with the same direction but unequal values of the coefficients. The results obtained are the reflection of existing environmental inequality in terms of exposure to poor air quality in the financial and administrative hubs of India respectively. Certainly, the existence of injustice in forms of unequal distribution of negative externality for economic progress is a result of state failure which has promised Right to Life under the social contract.