Nori Tarui

This study examines how earthquakes in both domestic and neighboring countries influence housing market perceptions of nuclear power plant (NPP) risks. While prior research has primarily focused on single seismic events using repeated cross-section or repeat-sales data, this study employs a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach with high-frequency housing transaction data in South Korea. We compare the effects of two exogenous shocks near the Kori NPP: the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and the 2017 Pohang earthquake. The results show that while the Fukushima disaster had no measurable impact on housing prices, the Pohang earthquake led to a statistically significant and persistent decline. Additionally, transaction volumes decreased following the Pohang earthquake, suggesting an initial demand-side shock, with buyers delaying purchases due to heightened uncertainty. These findings highlight the role of local, tangible risks in shaping housing market behavior, whereas distant nuclear accidents may have a more limited effect. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating how different types of seismic shocks influence risk perception and housing market dynamics, offering insights for policymakers on public responses to nuclear safety concerns.

This paper examines the impact of sea level rise (SLR) exposure on residential property values in Hawaiʻi by employing a repeat sales methodology on coastal properties transacted between 2000 and 2022. Our analysis reveals that properties exposed to a projected 3 ft of SLR appreciate by 0.8% less annually than unexposed properties. This depreciation effect is particularly pronounced on Oʻahu (-1.4% annually) and Hawaiʻi Island (-1.1% annually). The discount is in part explained by local buyers, with properties they purchase incurring a significantly higher annual penalty compared to those acquired by non-local buyers. Seawalls are associated with higher home appreciation rates; however, they do not offset the penalty associated with SLR exposure. Our work provides new evidence on the forward-looking capitalization of climate change exposure into housing markets, demonstrating that buyer origin—potentially representing differing beliefs or knowledge of risk—has a significant influence.

This study investigates the effect of the low emission zone (LEZ), designed to restrict old diesel vehicles, on air quality in Seoul, Republic of Korea, using the regression discontinuity in time (RDiT) approach. While previous studies have examined LEZ impacts using traditional econometric models such as time series and panel data approaches, our research uniquely integrates high-frequency daily weather data to better control for confounding environmental variables and captures time-of-day effects on pollutant concentrations. Our findings reveal that the LEZ policy effectively reduced NO₂ and SO₂ concentrations by 4.7% and 11.6%, respectively. Notably, during daytime hours, when traffic is heaviest, NO₂, SO₂, and PM₁₀ concentrations decreased by 7.1%, 14.8%, and 13.6%, respectively. These results suggest that the observed improvements can be attributed not only to reduced diesel vehicle registrations but also to significant declines in overall traffic volume.

We estimate the demand for tourism on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, from multiple perspectives. While the literature on nonmarket valuation focuses on estimating the willingness to pay for single use value or a single purpose, this study applies onsite survey data to address visitors’ willingness to pay for multilayered tourism: for an Oʻahu trip as a whole and for individual beach visits on the island. Our survey data reveal that those visitors who have visited Oʻahu in the past do not necessarily visit beaches less frequently on subsequent Oʻahu trips. The estimated consumer surplus per person for a trip to Oʻahu is considerably large ($3,400-$5,480 based on the preferred estimate) and is in line with the literature on resort island travel costs. The aggregate surplus of all Oʻahu visitors would be approximately $21 to $34 billion. The surplus increases with the number of beach trips during each island visit, indicating that maintaining beaches enhances the demand for tourism as a whole. Our beach travel cost analysis also illustrates that the extent of substitution among different beaches is limited for Oʻahu visitors such that losing an Oʻahu beach is unlikely to be compensated for by access to the remaining beaches on the island.

Climate change-induced sea level rise (SLR) will affect a range of coastal assets and prompt difficult decisions about coastal land use across the world. Several recent studies find that current and projected SLR is associated with relatively lower property values. We contribute to this growing body of research with a case study of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, which is famed for its beaches as well as valuable coastal real estate. We leverage a dataset that unpacks multiple types of SLR exposure and coastal parcel attributes. We apply property transaction data for the island of O‘ahu through 2019 to investigate the effect of current and expected SLR exposure on residential property prices. We find that exposed properties have already experienced declines in transaction prices, at 9 to 14%, attributed to expectations of exposure to chronic inundation (as opposed to seasonal flooding). The price declines are mainly for multi-dwelling homes as opposed to single family homes. The market response of residential properties to SLR has important implications for coastal management strategies, in particular the viability and timing of programs for retreat.