Date of Award
Spring 5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department
Economics
First Advisor
Monica Das
Second Advisor
Smriti Tiwari
Abstract
This study investigates the effects of environmental regulations on housing markets using a quasi-experiment setting – the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon emissions cap-and-trade program. Previous literature predicts a heterogeneous impact from cap-and-trade programs: House prices should rise as pollution levels decrease; however, in areas most heavily impacted by environmental regulations, damaged labor markets should lower housing prices. Employing a difference-in-differences approach, this study finds that house prices unexpectedly shifted down uniformly in regulated states. Specifically, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative decreased house prices by 6% to 8% in participating states once the program’s 2014 cap revision is accounted for. Labor churn resulting from the implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative could explain these results.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Doyle, Jack R., "Policy Tension: The Impact of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative on Housing Prices" (2026). Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects. 195.
https://creativematter.skidmore.edu/econ_studt_schol/195