The impact of Superfund sites on local property values: Are all sites the same?

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2006.07.003 Byline: Katherine A. Kiel (a), Michael Williams (b) Keywords: Hedonic regressions; Meta-analysis; Property values Abstract: It is generally assumed that all Superfund sites negatively impact property values, that the impact is similar for all sites, and that the impact disappears once the site has been cleaned. This paper examines several Superfund sites across the US and finds that some have the expected impact, while others have either no impact or a positive impact on local property values. The effect does not necessarily disappear for sites that have been cleaned. Using a meta-analysis approach to examine what factors contribute to a decrease in property values, we find that larger sites in areas with fewer blue-collar workers are more likely to have a negative impact. Author Affiliation: (a) College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics, Worcester, MA 01610, USA (b) State Street Bank, Boston, MA 02111, USA Article History: Received 9 June 2006; Revised 14 July 2006 Article Note: (footnote) [star] Please do not quote or cite without permission of the authors. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the US EPA or State Street Bank. We would like to thank the US EPA for funding this research under a Cooperative Agreement.