The Effect of Power Plants on Local Housing Values and Rents

2010/09/09 by Lucas W. Davis · 1 voice · 3 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Housing Market and Economics #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies #Environmental Justice and Health Disparities

paper · doi:10.1162/rest_a_00119

openalex publication_date 2010/09/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/10

Abstract

This paper uses restricted census microdata to examine housing values and rents for neighborhoods in the United States where power plants were opened during the 1990s. Compared to neighborhoods with similar housing and demographic characteristics, neighborhoods within 2 miles of plants experienced 3%–7% decreases in housing values and rents, with some evidence of larger decreases within 1 mile and for large-capacity plants. In addition, there is evidence of taste-based sorting, with neighborhoods near plants associated with modest but statistically significant decreases in mean household income, educational attainment, and the proportion owner-occupied.

Citations

• Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure Competition
• Migration and hedonic valuation: The case of air quality
• ESTIMATING THE GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM BENEFITS OF LARGE CHANGES IN SPATIALLY DELINEATED PUBLIC GOODS*
• Identification and Estimation of Hedonic Models

Cited by

• Disparities in Distribution of Particulate Matter Emission Sources by Race and Poverty Status
• Economic Effects of Environmental Crises: Evidence from Flint, Michigan
• The local air pollution cost of coal storage and handling: Evidence from U.S. power plants

Discussions

• By contrast, a study found that the presence of a fossil fuel fired power plant within 2 miles of one’s home decreased its value by 4–7%. In that study, 92% of the power plants surveyed were fueled by [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]

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