Working Paper: NBER ID: w18700
Authors: Janet Currie; Lucas Davis; Michael Greenstone; Reed Walker
Abstract: A ubiquitous and largely unquestioned assumption in studies of housing markets is that there is perfect information about local amenities. This paper measures the housing market and health impacts of 1,600 openings and closings of industrial plants that emit toxic pollutants. We find that housing values within one mile decrease by 1.5 percent when plants open, and increase by 1.5 percent when plants close. This implies an aggregate loss in housing values per plant of about $1.5 million. While the housing value impacts are concentrated within 1/2 mile, we find statistically significant infant health impacts up to one mile away.
Keywords: housing prices; environmental health risks; toxic plants; infant health; willingness to pay
JEL Codes: D62; I18; Q51; Q53
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| toxic plant operations (L65) | housing values (R31) |
| toxic plant closures (Q52) | housing values (R31) |
| toxic emissions (Q52) | low birth weight (J13) |