Clustered into control: Causal impacts of water infrastructure failure

Jacob LaRiviere, Casey Wichman and Brandon Cunningham ()
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Brandon Cunningham: Resources for the Future

RFF Working Paper Series from Resources for the Future

Abstract: The causal economic impacts of water infrastructure disruptions in OECD countries are largely unknown. Using details of water main break events in Washington, DC, and hourly traffic speeds for 2,182 road segments in a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference design, we estimate the causal effect of main failure on congestion. We use k-means clustering to match treated road segments to control segments. Although precisely estimated, the magnitude of our treatment effects is economically small even when accounting for temporal traffic heterogeneity. Our results suggest that traffic concerns alone are not a justification for policy makers to alter repair strategy for distributed water infrastructure.

Keywords: water main breaks; trac congestion; water infrastructure; k-means clustering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C10 H41 H70 L95 Q51 R42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-08-11
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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