Impacts of Indoor Air Quality on Laborers' Subjective Well-Being : Evidence from China Labor Dynamics Survey

Outdoor air pollution can affect physical labor productivity and mental health, but it remains to be studied how indoor air quality (IAQ) exposure affects laborers’ subjective well-being and physical health. Here, the first evidence of a link between IAQ and the subjective well-being of laborers has been provided using the dataset from a longitudinal survey in China. Using household ventilation as an instrument variable (IV) of IAQ revealed that IAQ improvements increased laborers' subjective well-being and life satisfaction by significantly affecting their physical health. Our analysis shows that an increase in IAQ by one standard deviation improves laborers' subjective well-being by 0.033 standard deviations, and compared to outdoor air quality, the impact of IAQ on well-being and life satisfaction is more conspicuous. The results are robust to a variety of alternative specifications. For developing countries, improving IAQ is a new channel toward enhancing life quality, with lower economic and social costs