Are friends electric? Valuing the social costs of power lines using house prices

Stephen Gibbons and Cheng Tang

CEP Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Performance, LSE

Abstract: Overhead electrical power lines and pylons have long raised concerns regarding the effects of electromagnetic fields on health, noise pollution and the visual impact on rural landscapes. These issues are once again salient because of the need for new lines to connect sources of renewable energy to the grid. In this study we provide new evidence on the cost implied by these externalities, as revealed in house prices. We use a spatial difference-in-difference approach that compares price changes in neighbourhoods that are close to overhead power lines, before and after they are constructed, with price changes in comparable neighbourhoods further away. Our findings suggest that the construction of new overhead pylons reduces prices by 3.6% for properties up to 1200 meters away, suggesting the impacts extend further than previously estimated.

Keywords: externalities; overhead power lines; pylons; house prices; revealed preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-08-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env and nep-ure
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Related works:
Journal Article: Are friends electric? Valuing the social costs of power lines using house prices (2024)
Working Paper: Are friends electric? Valuing the social costs of power lines using house prices (2024)
Working Paper: Are friends electric? Valuing the social costs of power lines using house prices (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1942

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