Effects of PM2.5 on health and economic loss: Evidence from Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China

Rapid industrialization and urbanization have triggered severe PM(2.5 )pollution and induced serious health hazards and economic losses in densely populated regions. A substantial number of health-related economic loss assessment methods, which quantify economic losses caused by diverse health endpoints, have been applied. However, traditional models neglect pollutant distribution and optimization of distribution parameters, which may lead to poor estimation accuracy. In this study, a health-related economic loss evaluation system is proposed, which deals with PM2.5 distribution, optimization of distribution parameters, and evaluation of health-related economic losses. This assessment system efficiently simulated the characteristic of PM2.5 concentrations in three cities of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and addressed economic losses estimation problems. The results indicate that the system not only provides a novel perspective on health-related economic loss assessment, but also assists policymakers in its practical application. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.