Abstract
If cleaning up a local environment also raises prices, does that widen or narrow inequality? We combine an equilibrium sorting model characterizing location choices with a new approach to causally estimate the impact of a cleaner environment on location utility to answer this question. We estimate the model leveraging a plausibly exogenous change in the local environment due to shale gas propensity, together with spatially-granular bilateral migration, air quality, and emissions data. Our results characterize relative welfare changes by racial groups under the observed environmental quality improvements, as well as simulated changes under counterfactual environmental policies. The results aim to quantify the connection between equity-oriented place-based environmental policies and residential location choices.
About the environmental economics seminar series
- Every Monday from 4.05 to 5.05 pm in TrinityTerm.
- In person details: Manor Road Building Seminar Room C - Tea and cookies will be served 15 minutes beforehand.
- Zoom details: Zoom link | Meeting ID: 975 3479 9321 | Passcode: EnviroEcon
- For further information please contact Edward Clark: edward.clark@economics.ox.ac.uk