What's in a Label? Distance Analysis of the Listing Effect of Hazardous Waste Remediation on Property Value; Great Lakes Areas of Concern

Abstract

The AOC program is an internationally managed hazardous waste remediation program focusing on the Great Lakes Basin, yet since its inception in 1987 little concrete evidence of its effects have been documented. Using tract level data from the 1970, 1980 and 1990 decennial censuses, this study employs a fixed effects panel data model and difference in differences analysis in order to recover the effect of AOC Listing on local property values. The results show large and significant negative effects to a change in hazardous waste status, all while the hazardous waste condition itself remains constant. This effect extends beyond the AOC and suggests heterogeneous impacts at different distances. These findings are useful in policy implementation and analysis, as they demonstrate both a scope of influence and potential cost considerations, and information on such informational effects will aide attempts to recover net benefits of longstanding, mostly unfinished remediation efforts.