Cross-sectional estimates of hedonic price functions theoretically recover marginal values for characteristics but face endogeneity problems. Consequently, economists have introduced difference-in-differences and other quasi-experimental econometric methods into hedonic models. Unfortunately, the welfare interpretation of these estimands has not been clear. This paper shows that quasi-experimental hedonics can identify the movement along the ex post price function. It further shows that this effect is a lower bound on general equilibrium welfare. Thus, nonmarginal welfare can be recovered using transparent designs without Rosen’s second stage or more structural models. The paper illustrates these results with an application to toxic facilities and housing prices.

Charles Tiebout's suggestion that people “vote with their feet” for communities with optimal bundles of taxes and public goods has played a central role in local public finance for over 50 years. Using a locational equilibrium model, we derive formal tests of his premise. The model predicts increased population density in neighborhoods experiencing exogenous improvements in public goods and, for large improvements, increased relative mean incomes. We test these hypotheses in the context of changing air quality. Our results provide strong empirical support for the notion that households “vote with their feet” for environmental quality.