How can green mountains and clear waters transform into mountains of gold and silver? Exploring the effects of Yangtze River protection policy on land market in China

We estimate the Yangtze River protection policy’ effect on land values and its economic benefits, based on the quasi-experimental and spatial difference-in-differences hedonic approaches. We found that the prices of land within 3 km distance to the Yangtze River are 13.5 % higher after the policy of Yangtze River protection. This effect is driven by river proximity land with increasing economic vitality for industrial firm entry, service business growth and recreational amenities improvement after the policy. We also found the significant benefits in land market after the policy. The policy implication is that governments should mitigate the spatial inequality of protection policy by using the land value capture taxes funding cross-subsidies, optimize the policy appraise and implementation, and capture the land prices premiums. We focus on the effect of Yangtze River protection on residential land market, while the wider effect of protection policy on different categories of property markets needs further study.