Do water quality improvements in coastal communities affect geographic mobility? Evidence from the Great Lakes

In this study, we measure the effect of cleaning up water pollution on residential moves to coastal communities using a two-stage sorting model. We use the first stage to estimate the mean utilities of geographic locations and the second stage to estimate the effect of water quality on mean utility. Specifically, we measure the effect of cleaning up Great Lakes Areas of Concern—which are heavily polluted coastal locations prioritized for restoration—on willingness to pay of Michigan residents. Despite substantial improvements in water quality in recent decades, we do not find precise evidence that restoring Areas of Concern affects geographic mobility; while point estimates suggest household willingness to pay to restore these areas may be several hundred dollars per year, confidence intervals consistently overlap zero