Pipeline incidents and property values

Abstract

The rapid expansion of pipelines during the U.S. shale oil and gas boom drew attention to the economic consequences of pipeline incidents. This study investigates the impacts of 426 gas distribution pipeline incidents on property values in the United States between 2010 and 2020. We find that only incidents that are both severe (involving explosion, ignition, or fatalities) and occurred on above-ground pipelines, which we define as high-profile incidents, have adverse effects on nearby property values, while other incidents have no measurable housing price effect. A difference-in-differences analysis finds that high-profile incidents significantly decrease property values within 1000 m by 8.2%, and the negative impact can persist for about eight years on average. Furthermore, we find a drop in transaction volume that lasts a short period after the incidents, suggesting an initial demand-side response. In contrast to the strong effects of pipeline incidents, we do not find statistically significant price effects from pipeline installation. We also demonstrate that there is substantial heterogeneity by the type of incident and that results based on studies of individual incidents should be generalized with caution.