Unregulated Contaminants in Drinking Water: Evidence from PFAS and Housing Prices

Michelle M. Marcus and Rosie Mueller

No 31731, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Our understanding of individuals’ response to information about unregulated contaminants is limited. We leverage the highly publicized social discovery of unregulated PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination in public drinking water to study the impact of information about unregulated contaminants on housing prices. Using residential property transaction data, we employ a difference-in-differences research design and show that high profile media coverage about PFAS contamination significantly decreased property values of affected homes. We also find suggestive evidence of residential sorting that may have worsened environmental inequality.

JEL-codes: Q52 Q53 R21 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env and nep-ure
Note: EEE
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Published as Michelle Marcus & Rosie Mueller, 2024. "Unregulated contaminants in drinking water: Evidence from PFAS and housing prices," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, .

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