The impact of dam removal on county level earnings

AbstractIn recent years, the dam removal movement, driven by concerns about dam safety, populations of native aquatic species, and the conservation of overall habitats, has gone mainstream. Although many studies focus on the ecological benefits of the removal of a particular dam, research on economic changes at the county level are limited. Most studies concerned with this topic examine a single location and fail to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the overall impact of dam removal on the broader economy. We address this gap in the literature using a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the effect of dam removal on earnings in the Leisure and Hospitality Supersector (NAICS 71 and NAICS 72). Results show little effect on earnings at the county level. This means that policymakers, when evaluating dam removal, should focus on other economic, environmental, and aesthetic factors that are specific to a particular dam site.Keywords: dam removalhospitalityleisuretourismexternalitieseconomic impact AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers who provided valuable suggestions and comments that were helpful in improving an earlier version of this manuscript. Any remaining errors are our own.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).