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The Energy Costs of Historic Preservation

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  • Christian A. L. Hilber
  • Charles Palmer
  • Edward W. Pinchbeck

Abstract

We explore the impact of historical preservation policies on domestic energy consumption. Using panel data for England from 2006 to 2013 and employing a fixed effects-strategy, we document that (i) rising national energy prices induce an increase in home energy efficiency installations and a corresponding reduction in energy consumption and (ii) this energy saving effect is significantly less pronounced in Conservation Areas and in places with high concentrations of Listed Buildings, where the adoption of energy efficiency installations is typically more costly and sometimes legally prevented altogether. Preservation policies increase private energy costs and the social cost of carbon per designated dwelling by around £8,000 and £2,550, respectively. These costs ought to be weighed against any benefits of preservation.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian A. L. Hilber & Charles Palmer & Edward W. Pinchbeck, 2017. "The Energy Costs of Historic Preservation," SERC Discussion Papers 0217, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:sercdp:0217
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    Cited by:

    1. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Palmer, Charles & Pinchbeck, Edward W., 2019. "The energy costs of historic preservation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Anselm Eicke, Tarun Khanna, and Lion Hirth, 2020. "Locational Investment Signals: How to Steer the Siting of New Generation Capacity in Power Systems?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 6), pages 281-304.
    3. Liu, Ruiming & Yan, Haosheng & Zhang, Zebang, 2024. "Does historic preservation affect firms' output? Evidence from the awarding of the Historic City title in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    4. Fetzer, Thiemo, 2023. "Regulatory barriers to climate action: evidence from conservation areas in England," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 654, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    5. Germeshausen, Robert & von Graevenitz, Kathrine & Achtnicht, Martin, 2022. "Does the stick make the carrot more attractive? State mandates and uptake of renewable heating technologies," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    6. Luigi Wewege & Jeo Lee & Michael C. Thomsett, 2020. "Disruptions and Digital Banking Trends," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 10(6), pages 1-2.
    7. Hanlon, W.Walker & Heblich, Stephan, 2022. "History and urban economics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    8. Suzuki, Masatomo & Shimizu, Chihiro, 2024. "Obsolete housing equipment, weak renovation, and rapid depreciation of Japanese condominiums," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Zhou, Yang, 2021. "The political economy of historic districts: The private, the public, and the collective," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    preservation policies; land use regulation; energy efficiency; energy consumption; climate change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy
    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations

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