Water Quality and Hedonic Models : a Meta-Analysis of Commodity, Market, and Methodological Choices

This study quantitatively reviews the hedonic literature examining surface water quality to assess how attributes of the commodity, housing market, and methodological choices lead to variation in the significance and expected sign of the estimated property value effects. Using meta-analysis of 29 studies with 290 unique estimates, we provide evidence based on probit meta-regression models that some of the definitions and decisions made in primary studies do influence the estimated relationship between water quality and home prices, all else constant. Our most robust evidence suggests that methodological choices have a critical role in determining the likelihood of finding a significant and theoretically expected result; and perhaps most importantly, it is not always choices that reflect best practices that lead to this finding