Cleaner waters and urbanization

Qianping Ren and Jeremy West

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2023, vol. 122, issue C

Abstract: The Clean Water Act (CWA) addresses nonpoint source pollution primarily by funding public works projects. Our study evaluates changes in rural watersheds before and after CWA projects are implemented, compared to watersheds without funding. We find that projects significantly reduce water pollution, with corresponding increases in human population and residential construction. Using housing values, we estimate that economic benefits exceed government costs by at least fourfold. Over half of this benefit is attributable to new housing. Our findings show that pollution can impede urbanization, suggesting more broadly that residential development is an important mechanism of revealed preference for environmental quality.

Keywords: Water pollution; Public works; Rural development; Environmental valuation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H41 O44 Q53 Q56 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Cleaner waters and urbanization (2023)
Working Paper: Cleaner Waters and Urbanization (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:122:y:2023:i:c:s009506962300092x

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2023.102874

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