Assessing the Relevance of County-Level Eco-Efficiency to Single-Family Housing Prices

Abstract

Eco-efficiency has been used in the private sector as a measure of how resources are used to produce environmental outcomes. In these instances, eco-efficiency has a reported signaling effect that increases value for stakeholders. In the public sector, research suggests that increased spending on social goods at the national (country) level results in reduced emissions with the resulting effect of an improved environment. This study extends previous research by applying eco-efficiency to the public sector in a significantly different public entity, county government, and by linking spending on social goods (input) and emissions (output) to a direct outcome of measurable economic value to individual citizens, single-family housing prices, for 66 Florida counties during the years 2005-2014. Results obtained show a positive and significant relationship between eco-efficiency and single-family housing prices. The results suggest that county-level eco-efficiency may be an important element to be included in external reports to citizens.