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

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  • 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
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.

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    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

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