Working Paper: NBER ID: w30661
Authors: Alecia W. Cassidy; Elaine L. Hill; Lala Ma
Abstract: The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) manages cleanup of hazardous waste releases at over 3,500 sites across the US, which covers approximately 17.5% of all developed land in the country. This paper evaluates the national and distributional housing market impacts of cleanups performed under RCRA and estimates the program's impacts on neighborhood change. We find that cleanups near residential properties yield significant, yet localized, increases in home prices, and that impacts are concentrated in the lower deciles of the price distribution. Importantly, we find no evidence of sorting along socio-demographic dimensions in response to cleanup. Our findings suggest that cleanup benefits accrue to the residents who are the original “hosts” of pollution and could correct pre-existing disparities in exposure to land-based contamination.
Keywords: hazardous waste; housing market; RCRA; cleanups; environmental justice
JEL Codes: Q51; Q52; Q53; Q58
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| RCRA cleanups (L99) | benefits accrue to original residents (R23) |
| RCRA cleanups (L99) | increases in home prices (R31) |
| RCRA cleanups (L99) | localized increases in home prices (R31) |
| RCRA cleanups (L99) | no sorting along sociodemographic dimensions (J79) |
| RCRA cleanups (L99) | no significant impacts on socio-demographic and housing-related outcomes (R28) |