Private adoption of public good technologies: the case of PurpleAir in California
We study the private adoption and spatial diffusion of a technology that provides a local public good—PurpleAir (PA) pollution monitors, which deliver real-time, publicly accessible air quality information. From a purely informational perspective, the ideal spacing of these monitors should reflect t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Communications |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ade2be |
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| author | Joshua Graff Zivin Benjamin Krebs Matthew Neidell |
| author_facet | Joshua Graff Zivin Benjamin Krebs Matthew Neidell |
| author_sort | Joshua Graff Zivin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We study the private adoption and spatial diffusion of a technology that provides a local public good—PurpleAir (PA) pollution monitors, which deliver real-time, publicly accessible air quality information. From a purely informational perspective, the ideal spacing of these monitors should reflect the degree of spatial correlation in pollution. We examine whether observed adoption patterns align with an information-maximizing distribution to explore the information implications of this private provision of a public good. Using data from California between 2019 and 2021, we find that monitor adoption is highly clustered in less polluted areas, where the marginal monitor provides minimal additional public information. Moreover, monitor adoption mainly occurs in affluent, predominantly White neighborhoods, underscoring the potential environmental justice concerns associated with the private provision of this public good. Additional analyses suggest that spatial clustering in preferences that are independent of the monitors’ informational value may be driving adoption. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-96fcdd4464d74ec3aee1723ae81e8632 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2515-7620 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-96fcdd4464d74ec3aee1723ae81e86322025-08-20T02:08:00ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Communications2515-76202025-01-017606502510.1088/2515-7620/ade2bePrivate adoption of public good technologies: the case of PurpleAir in CaliforniaJoshua Graff Zivin0Benjamin Krebs1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6870-1514Matthew Neidell2Department of Economics, University of California , San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States of America; School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California , San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States of America; National Bureau of Economic Research , Cambridge, MA, United States of AmericaFaculty of Business and Economics, University of Basel , SwitzerlandNational Bureau of Economic Research , Cambridge, MA, United States of America; Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University , New York, NY, United States of America; IZA Institute of Labor Economics , Bonn, GermanyWe study the private adoption and spatial diffusion of a technology that provides a local public good—PurpleAir (PA) pollution monitors, which deliver real-time, publicly accessible air quality information. From a purely informational perspective, the ideal spacing of these monitors should reflect the degree of spatial correlation in pollution. We examine whether observed adoption patterns align with an information-maximizing distribution to explore the information implications of this private provision of a public good. Using data from California between 2019 and 2021, we find that monitor adoption is highly clustered in less polluted areas, where the marginal monitor provides minimal additional public information. Moreover, monitor adoption mainly occurs in affluent, predominantly White neighborhoods, underscoring the potential environmental justice concerns associated with the private provision of this public good. Additional analyses suggest that spatial clustering in preferences that are independent of the monitors’ informational value may be driving adoption.https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ade2betechnology adoptionpublic goods provisionpublic informationpollution monitoringenvironmental justice |
| spellingShingle | Joshua Graff Zivin Benjamin Krebs Matthew Neidell Private adoption of public good technologies: the case of PurpleAir in California Environmental Research Communications technology adoption public goods provision public information pollution monitoring environmental justice |
| title | Private adoption of public good technologies: the case of PurpleAir in California |
| title_full | Private adoption of public good technologies: the case of PurpleAir in California |
| title_fullStr | Private adoption of public good technologies: the case of PurpleAir in California |
| title_full_unstemmed | Private adoption of public good technologies: the case of PurpleAir in California |
| title_short | Private adoption of public good technologies: the case of PurpleAir in California |
| title_sort | private adoption of public good technologies the case of purpleair in california |
| topic | technology adoption public goods provision public information pollution monitoring environmental justice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ade2be |
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