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Nutrient Standards, Water Quality Indicators, and Economic Benefits from Water Quality Regulations

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  • Patrick J. Walsh

    (US EPA)

  • J. Walter Milon

    (University of Central Florida)

Abstract

There is no consensus in the hedonic property pricing literature on measures of water quality to use for regulatory policy analysis. This study compares several alternative measures of water quality with a focus on singular and composite nutrient indicators. Our contribution is to compare and contrast these indicators in the context of benefit analysis based on recent regulatory programs for nutrients in the US and EU. Results indicate order of magnitude differences in the benefits derived from the different types of indicators. We find support for a compound indicator that combines three policy-relevant indicators into an overall measure of waterbody health and is significantly related to property values. Given the growing interest in objective criteria for regulating nutrients and other nonpoint source pollutants, these results provide guidance on the selection of indicators in property valuation studies of water quality regulations.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick J. Walsh & J. Walter Milon, 2016. "Nutrient Standards, Water Quality Indicators, and Economic Benefits from Water Quality Regulations," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 64(4), pages 643-661, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:64:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10640-015-9892-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-015-9892-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Dennis Guignet & Matthew T. Heberling & Michael Papenfus & Olivia Griot, 2022. "Property Values, Water Quality, and Benefit Transfer: A Nationwide Meta-analysis," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 98(2), pages 191-218.
    2. Sarah Nicholls & John Crompton, 2018. "A Comprehensive Review of the Evidence of the Impact of Surface Water Quality on Property Values," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-30, February.
    3. Okmyung Bin & Jeffrey Czajkowski & Jingyuan Li & Gabriele Villarini, 2017. "Housing Market Fluctuations and the Implicit Price of Water Quality: Empirical Evidence from a South Florida Housing Market," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(2), pages 319-341, October.
    4. Janne Artell & Anni Huhtala, 2017. "What Are the Benefits of the Water Framework Directive? Lessons Learned for Policy Design from Preference Revelation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(4), pages 847-873, December.
    5. Dennis Guignet & Rachel Northcutt & Patrick J. Walsh, 2015. "The Property Value Impacts of Groundwater Contamination: Agricultural Runoff and Private Wells," NCEE Working Paper Series 201505, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Nov 2015.
    6. Wainger, L. & Loomis, J. & Johnston, R. & Hansen, L. & Carlisle, D. & Lawrence, D. & Gollehon, N. & Duriancik, L. & Schwartz, G. & Ribaudo, M. & Gala, C., 2017. "Ecosystem Service Benefits Generated by Improved Water Quality from Conservation Practices," C-FARE Reports 260679, Council on Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics (C-FARE).
    7. Matthew T. Heberling & Dennis Guignet & Michael Papenfus, 2022. "Water Quality and Hedonic Models: A MetaAnalysis of Commodity, Market, and Methodological Characteristics," Working Papers 22-06, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
    8. Weng, Weizhe & Boyle, Kevin J. & Farrell, Kaitlin J. & Carey, Cayelan C. & Cobourn, Kelly M. & Dugan, Hilary A. & Hanson, Paul C. & Ward, Nicole K. & Weathers, Kathleen C., 2020. "Coupling Natural and Human Models in the Context of a Lake Ecosystem: Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, USA," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).

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