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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Do Weather Fluctuations Cause People To Seek Information About Climate Change?, Corey Lang Jun 2014

Do Weather Fluctuations Cause People To Seek Information About Climate Change?, Corey Lang

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Faculty Publications

Learning about the causes and consequences of climate change can be an important avenue for supporting mitigation policy and efficient adaptation. This paper uses internet search activity data, a distinctly revealed preference approach, to examine if local weather fluctuations cause people to seek information about climate change. The results suggest that weather fluctuations do have an effect on climate change related search behavior, however not always in ways that are consistent with the projected impacts of climate change. While search activity increases with extreme heat in summer and extended periods of no rainfall and declines in extreme cold in winter, …


The Windy City: Property Value Impacts Of Wind Turbines In An Urban Setting, Corey Lang, James J. Opaluch Jan 2014

The Windy City: Property Value Impacts Of Wind Turbines In An Urban Setting, Corey Lang, James J. Opaluch

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Faculty Publications

This paper examines the impact of wind turbines on house values in Rhode Island. In contrast to wind farms surrounded by sparse development, in Rhode Island single turbines have been built in relatively high population dense areas. As a result, we observe 48,554 single-family, owner-occupied transactions within five miles of a turbine site, including 3,254 within one mile, which is far more than most related studies. We estimate hedonic difference-in-differences models that allow for impacts of wind turbines by proximity, viewshed, and contrast with surrounding development. Across a wide variety of specifications, the results suggest that wind turbines have no …


Who Benefits From Environmental Regulation? Evidence From The Clean Air Act Amendments, Antonio Bento, Matthew Freedman, Corey Lang Jan 2014

Who Benefits From Environmental Regulation? Evidence From The Clean Air Act Amendments, Antonio Bento, Matthew Freedman, Corey Lang

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Faculty Publications

Using geographically disaggregated data and exploiting an instrumental variable strategy, we show that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the benefits of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) were progressive. The CAAA created incentives for local regulators to target the initially dirtiest areas for cleanup, creating heterogeneity in the incidence of air quality improvements that favored lower-income households. Based on house price appreciation, households in the lowest quintile of the income distribution received annual benefits from the program equal to 0.3% of their income on average during the 1990s, over twice as much as those in the highest quintile.