The Econometric Assessment of Losses Caused by Water Pollution in Chongqing, Southwest China.

As an important industrial city, Chongqing has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, but at the same time the growth has been accompanied by serious pollution problems. Water quality monitoring shows that the waters of Chongqing are widely polluted. In this paper, the human capital approach is applied to assessing the economic losses and damages caused by water pollution in Chongqing. Based on previous studies and empirical investigations, water pollution-induced damage can be categorized into two general types; damage to ecosystems, including agriculture; and damage to non-ecosystems, including industry. The economic loss estimation of each type of the damage is conducted by taking into account a group of relevant parameters and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]