Date of Award

11-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Economics

First Advisor

Scott Hegerty, Ph.D.

Abstract

In this paper we investigate unimproved land in Cook County, Illinois to see if land values experienced changes due to highway construction in the 1950s. Theory suggests transportation investment should increase land values but assembling supportive data for analysis has been problematic . Previous case studies on the issue have proven contradictory. Our goal here is to illuminate the various influences on land values and to use appropriate methodologies to help clarify and confirm our observations. We utilize a two-way fixed effect event study model and we find evidence that land values increase in response to a highway being built in quarter sections within 0.5 miles of newly opened interstate sections. Our work sheds light on how land values responded to new transportation infrastructure and raises valuable questions for further research.

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