IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/rwirep/433.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Distant Event, Local Effects? Fukushima and the German Housing Market

Author

Listed:
  • Bauer, Thomas K.
  • Braun, Sebastian
  • Kvasnicka, Michael

Abstract

The Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan in March 2011 caused a fundamental change in Germany's energy policy which led to the immediate shut down of nearly half of its nuclear power plants. This paper uses data from Germany's largest internet platform for real estate to investigate the effect of Fukushima on the German housing market. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find that Fukushima reduced house prices near nuclear power plants that were in operation before Fukushima by almost 6%. House prices near sites that were shut down right after the accident even fell by 10.8%. Our results suggest that economic reasons are of prime importance for the observed fall in house prices near nuclear power plants.

Suggested Citation

  • Bauer, Thomas K. & Braun, Sebastian & Kvasnicka, Michael, 2013. "Distant Event, Local Effects? Fukushima and the German Housing Market," Ruhr Economic Papers 433, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:433
    DOI: 10.4419/86788489
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/79250/1/756926297.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4419/86788489?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeffrey P. Cohen & Cletus C. Coughlin, 2008. "Spatial Hedonic Models Of Airport Noise, Proximity, And Housing Prices," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5), pages 859-878, December.
    2. Michael Greenstone & Justin Gallagher, 2008. "Does Hazardous Waste Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market and the Superfund Program," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(3), pages 951-1003.
    3. Luc Anselin & Nancy Lozano-Gracia, 2009. "Errors in variables and spatial effects in hedonic house price models of ambient air quality," Studies in Empirical Economics, in: Giuseppe Arbia & Badi H. Baltagi (ed.), Spatial Econometrics, pages 5-34, Springer.
    4. Jon P. Nelson, 1981. "Three Mile Island and Residential Property Values: Empirical Analysis and Policy Implications," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(3), pages 363-372.
    5. Ted Gayer & James T. Hamilton & W. Kip Viscusi, 2000. "Private Values Of Risk Tradeoffs At Superfund Sites: Housing Market Evidence On Learning About Risk," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(3), pages 439-451, August.
    6. Thomas Bauer & Sven Feuerschütte & Michael Kiefer & Philipp an de Meulen & Martin Micheli & Torsten Schmidt & Lars-Holger Wilke, 2013. "Ein hedonischer Immobilienpreisindex auf Basis von Internetdaten: 2007–2011," AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Springer;Deutsche Statistische Gesellschaft - German Statistical Society, vol. 7(1), pages 5-30, August.
    7. John I. Carruthers & David E. Clark, 2010. "Valuing Environmental Quality: A Space‐Based Strategy," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(4), pages 801-832, October.
    8. Alexander Fink & Thomas Stratmann, 2013. "U.S. housing prices and the Fukushima nuclear accident: To update, or not to update, that is the question," ICER Working Papers 04-2013, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    9. Kiel Katherine A. & McClain Katherine T., 1995. "House Prices during Siting Decision Stages: The Case of an Incinerator from Rumor through Operation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 241-255, March.
    10. Ghebreegziabiher Debrezion & Eric Pels & Piet Rietveld, 2007. "The Impact of Railway Stations on Residential and Commercial Property Value: A Meta-analysis," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 161-180, August.
    11. Lucas W. Davis, 2011. "The Effect of Power Plants on Local Housing Values and Rents," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1391-1402, November.
    12. Cho, Seong-Hoon & Poudyal, Neelam C. & Roberts, Roland K., 2008. "Spatial analysis of the amenity value of green open space," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 403-416, June.
    13. Sherman Folland & Robbin Hough, 2000. "Externalities of Nuclear Power Plants: Further Evidence," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 735-753, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Renaud Coulomb & Yanos Zylberberg, 2016. "Rare events and risk perception: evidence from Fukushima accident," GRI Working Papers 229, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    2. Zhu, Hongjia & Deng, Yongheng & Zhu, Rong & He, Xiaobo, 2016. "Fear of nuclear power? Evidence from Fukushima nuclear accident and land markets in China," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 139-154.
    3. Koenig, Christoph, 2015. "The Political Fallout of Chernobyl: Evidence from West-German Elections," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1081, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Ando, Michihito & Dahlberg, Matz & Engström, Gustav, 2017. "The risks of nuclear disaster and its impact on housing prices," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 13-16.
    5. Micheli, Martin, 2016. "Local governments' indebtedness and its impact on real estate prices," Ruhr Economic Papers 605, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Fink, Alexander & Stratmann, Thomas, 2015. "U.S. housing prices and the Fukushima nuclear accident," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 309-326.
    7. Welsch, Heinz & Biermann, Philipp, 2016. "Measuring nuclear power plant externalities using life satisfaction data: A spatial analysis for Switzerland," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 98-111.
    8. Jan Goebel & Christian Krekel & Tim Tiefenbach & Nicolas Ziebarth, 2015. "How natural disasters can affect environmental concerns, risk aversion, and even politics: evidence from Fukushima and three European countries," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(4), pages 1137-1180, October.
    9. Huhtala, Anni & Remes, Piia, 2016. "Dimming Hopes for Nuclear Power: Quantifying the Social Costs of Perceptions of Risks," Working Papers 57, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    10. Dertwinkel-Kalt, Markus & Wenzel, Tobias, 2015. "Attention and Endogenous Framing," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112971, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. Welsch, Heinz, 2016. "Electricity Externalities, Siting, and the Energy Mix: A Survey," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 10(1), pages 57-94, November.
    12. Andreas Mense & Konstantin Kholodilin, 2014. "Noise expectations and house prices: the reaction of property prices to an airport expansion," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 52(3), pages 763-797, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:zbw:rwirep:0433 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Thomas K. Bauer & Sebastian Braun & Michael Kvasnicka, 2013. "Distant Event, Local Effects? Fukushima and the German Housing Market," Ruhr Economic Papers 0433, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    3. Bauer, Thomas K. & Braun, Sebastian T. & Kvasnicka, Michael, 2017. "Nuclear power plant closures and local housing values: Evidence from Fukushima and the German housing market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 94-106.
    4. Renaud Coulomb & Yanos Zylberberg, 2016. "Rare events and risk perception: evidence from Fukushima accident," GRI Working Papers 229, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    5. Janet Currie & Lucas Davis & Michael Greenstone & Reed Walker, 2013. "Do Housing Prices Reflect Environmental Health Risks? Evidence from More than 1600 Toxic Plant Openings and Closings," NBER Working Papers 18700, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Alexander Fink & Thomas Stratmann, 2013. "U.S. housing prices and the Fukushima nuclear accident: To update, or not to update, that is the question," ICER Working Papers 04-2013, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    7. Fink, Alexander & Stratmann, Thomas, 2015. "U.S. housing prices and the Fukushima nuclear accident," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 309-326.
    8. Lucas W. Davis, 2008. "The Effect of Power Plants on Local Housing Values and Rents: Evidence from Restricted Census Microdata," Working Papers 0809, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
    9. Modica, Marco, 2017. "Does the construction of biogas plants affect local property values?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 169-172.
    10. Welsch, Heinz, 2016. "Electricity Externalities, Siting, and the Energy Mix: A Survey," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 10(1), pages 57-94, November.
    11. Welsch, Heinz & Biermann, Philipp, 2016. "Measuring nuclear power plant externalities using life satisfaction data: A spatial analysis for Switzerland," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 98-111.
    12. John Braden & Xia Feng & DooHwan Won, 2011. "Waste Sites and Property Values: A Meta-Analysis," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 50(2), pages 175-201, October.
    13. Tanaka, Shinsuke & Zabel, Jeffrey, 2018. "Valuing nuclear energy risk: Evidence from the impact of the Fukushima crisis on U.S. house prices," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 411-426.
    14. Gawande, Kishore & Jenkins-Smith, Hank & Yuan, May, 2013. "The long-run impact of nuclear waste shipments on the property market: Evidence from a quasi-experiment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 56-73.
    15. Jeremy G. Moulton & Nicholas J. Sanders & Scott A. Wentland, 2024. "Toxic Assets: How the Housing Market Responds to Environmental Information Shocks," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 100(1), pages 66-88.
    16. Guoying Deng & Manuel A. Hernandez & Shu Xu, 2020. "When Power Plants Leave Town: Environmental Quality and the Housing Market in China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 77(4), pages 751-780, December.
    17. Christian Almer & Stefan Boes & Stephan Nüesch, 2017. "Adjustments in the housing market after an environmental shock: evidence from a large-scale change in aircraft noise exposure," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(4), pages 918-938.
    18. Rivera, Nathaly M. & Loveridge, Scott, 2022. "Coal-to-gas fuel switching and its effects on housing prices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    19. KAWAGUCHI, Daiji & 川口, 大司 & YUKUTAKE, Norifumi & 行武, 憲史, 2014. "Estimating the Residential Land Damage of the Fukushima Accident," Discussion Papers 2014-18, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University.
    20. Grislain-Letrémy, Céline & Katossky, Arthur, 2014. "The impact of hazardous industrial facilities on housing prices: A comparison of parametric and semiparametric hedonic price models," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 93-107.
    21. Christopher F. Parmeter & Jaren C. Pope, 2013. "Quasi-experiments and hedonic property value methods," Chapters, in: John A. List & Michael K. Price (ed.), Handbook on Experimental Economics and the Environment, chapter 1, pages 3-66, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fukushima; nuclear power plants; housing prices; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:433. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rwiesde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.