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

Tang, Cheng Keat and Gibbons, Steve ORCID: 0000-0002-2871-8562 (2023) Are friends electric? Valuing the social costs of power lines using house prices. CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP1942). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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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.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Geography & Environment
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
JEL classification:	R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R3 - Production Analysis and Firm Location > R32 - Other Production and Pricing Analysis Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q4 - Energy > Q48 - Government Policy Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q51 - Valuation of Environmental Effects
Date Deposited:	16 Jan 2024 16:15
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 04:59
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/121288

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