Bloom and bust: Toxic algae's impact on nearby property values

David Wolf and Henry Klaiber

Ecological Economics, 2017, vol. 135, issue C, 209-221

Abstract: Over the past decade harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become a nationwide environmental concern. HABs are likely to increase in frequency and intensity due to rising summer temperatures caused by climate change and higher nutrient enrichment from increased urbanization. Policymakers need information on the economic costs of HABs to design optimal management policies in the face of limited budgets. Using a detailed, multi-lake hedonic analysis across 6 Ohio counties between 2009 and 2015 we show capitalization losses associated with near lake homes between 11% and 17% rising to above 22% for lake adjacent homes. In the case of Grand Lake Saint Marys, we find one-time capitalization losses exceeding $51 million for near lake homes which dwarfs the State of Ohio's cleanup expenditure of $26 million.

Keywords: Harmful algal bloom; Hedonic; Blue green algae; Cyanobacteria; Capitalization; Inland lake (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q25 Q51 Q53 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Working Paper: Bloom and Bust: Toxic Algae’s Impact on Nearby Property Values (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:135:y:2017:i:c:p:209-221

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.12.007

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