The haze’s effects on cognition

Prof Chew Soo Hong, Provost’s Chair Professor from the Dept of Economics at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences shared findings from a first-of-its-kind natural experiment on ambient PM2.5 and decision making that he conducted with researchers from Wuhan University, which was observed in an incentivised laboratory setting in Beijing in October 2012, before PM2.5 was included as part of the air quality measure in China.  He noted that when looking at the social costs of environmental pollution, policymakers have tended to focus on the direct economic costs, but there is a need to take into account the impact of air pollution on how people make decisions.

• The Straits Times, 13 December 2017, Opinion, pA17