Unregulated contaminants in drinking water: Evidence from PFAS and housing prices

Michelle Marcus and Rosie Mueller

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2024, vol. 125, issue C

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.

Keywords: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); Unregulated contaminants; Drinking water; Housing prices; Information; Avoidance behavior; Sorting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:125:y:2024:i:c:s0095069624000615

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.102987

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