Loss of Value in House Properties due to Air Pollution in Map Ta Phut Industrial Area of Thailand

Air pollution in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Thailand, has caused increasing risk of death, injury and health problems for local residents. Existing control measures are ineffective due to weak law enforcement. Although the problem has drawn a lot of attention, the monetary value of the impacts of air pollution in Map Ta Phut is not known. The objective of this paper was to estimate the economic cost of air pollution damage in Map Ta Phut using the Hedonic Pricing Method, with 192 house samples. The results showed that the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for a one unit reduction of AQI level was THB 2,815 or around USD 80, or each unit increase in air pollution would result in an estimated loss of THB 2,815 or around USD 80 in house price. The total value of losses to housing from one unit of air pollution in Map Ta Phut which is comprise of 38 communities was THB 119.3 million (about USD 3.4 million). Detection of the loss of value has implications for local residents, housing development investors, factories, and government and environmental institutions to manage air pollution as their top priority as well as to evaluate the efficiency of existing measures and budget to deal with the problem more appropriately