Distant Event, Local Effects? Fukushima and the German Housing Market

The Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan in March 2011 caused a fundamental change in Germany s energy policy which led to the immediate shut down of nearly half of its nuclear power plants. This paper uses data from Germany´s largest internet platform for real estate to investigate the effect of Fukushima on the German housing market. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find that Fukushima reduced house prices near nuclear power plants that were in operation before Fukushima by almost 5%. House prices near sites that were shut down right after the accident even fell by 9.7%. Our results suggest that economic reasons are of prime importance for the observed fall in house prices near nuclear power plants in Germany.