Karla Vega

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Air pollution causes an alarming number of deaths worldwide. Metropolitan Lima is one of the megacities with the worst air quality in the world; San Juan de Lurigancho, one of the most polluted districts in Peru, recorded an annual average concentration of 41.2 µg/m3 of PM2.5 in 2023, which significantly exceeds the annual reference limit of 15 µg/m3 established by the World Health Organization. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the economic benefit of improving air quality in San Juan de Lurigancho using the contingent valuation method in both simple and double dichotomous formats. A total of 400 face-to-face interviews were conducted to assess households’ willingness to pay for this environmental improvement, based on a price vector of 4, 6, 8, and 10 PEN as a monthly contribution over one year. The results indicate that 60% of respondents are willing to make a financial contribution. The average willingness to pay values, taking into account the variables household income and age of the head of household – the only statistically significant variables in the econometric models – are 8.77 PEN/month and 7.99 PEN/month, for the simple dichotomous and double dichotomous formats, respectively. Using this latter estimate, the associated social benefit amounts to 28,994,112 PEN/year (approximately 8,076,354 USD/year), which provides a useful benchmark for evaluating public policies aimed at mitigating air pollution in large urban centers.