The Value of Piped Water and Sewers: Evidence from 19th Century Chicago

Michael Coury, Toru Kitagawa, Allison Shertzer and Matthew Turner

No 29718, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We estimate the impact of piped water and sewers on property values in late-19th century Chicago. The cost of sewer construction depends sensitively on imperceptible variation in elevation, and such variation delays water and sewer service to part of the city. This delay provides quasi-random variation for causal estimates. We extrapolate ATE estimates from our natural experiment to the area treated with water and sewer service during 1874-1880 using a new estimator. Water and sewer access increases property values by more than a factor of two. This exceeds costs by about a factor of 60.

JEL-codes: L97 N11 O18 R3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
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Working Paper: The Value of Piped Water and Sewers: Evidence from 19th Century Chicago (2025)
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