The Economic Costs of NIMBYism: Evidence from Renewable Energy Projects

Large infrastructure projects have important social benefits but can also prompt strong local opposition. I estimate the economic costs of NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitudes and local planning restrictions by studying renewable energy projects. Using data on thousands of permitting applications, I show that wind and solar projects can have highly heterogeneous impacts depending on their characteristics and location. In some cases this includes significant external local costs, and I conduct a hedonic analysis to quantify the impact on nearby property values. I then show that planning officials are particularly sensitive to these local costs, especially when wealthy residents are affected. This often comes at the expense of considering the wider social benefits of these projects. These biases in the permitting process create inefficiencies that increased costs and led to substantial underinvestment in renewable energy.