TY  - BOOK
AU  - Gupta,Arpit
AU  - Van Nieuwerburgh,Stijn
AU  - Kontokosta,Constantine
ED  - National Bureau of Economic Research.
TI  - Take the Q Train: Value Capture of Public Infrastructure Projects 
T2  - NBER working paper series
PY  - 2020///
CY  - Cambridge, Mass.
PB  - National Bureau of Economic Research
N1  - February 2020; Hardcopy version available to institutional subscribers
N2  - Transit infrastructure is a critical asset for economic activity yet costly to build in dense urban environments. We measure the benefit of the Second Avenue Subway extension in New York City, the most expensive urban transit infrastructure project in recent memory, by analyzing local real estate prices which capitalize the benefits of transit spillovers. We find 8% price increases, creating $6 billion in new property value. Using cell phone ping data, we document substantial reductions in commuting time especially among subway users, offering a plausible mechanism for the price gains. The increase in prices reflects both higher rents and lower risk. Infrastructure improvements lower the riskiness of real estate investments. Only 30% of the private value created by the subway is captured through higher property tax revenue, and is insufficient to cover the cost of the subway. Targeted property tax increases may help governments capture more of the value created, and serve as a useful funding tool
UR  - https://www.nber.org/papers/w26789
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w26789
ER  -