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11. Do places of worship affect housing prices? Evidence from Germany

Author:
Sebastian Brandt, Wolfgang Maennig, and Felix J. Richter
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
Using hedonic pricing models, this paper analyzes the impact of places of worship on the prices of adjacent condominiums in Hamburg, Germany. This is the first study on this subject to have been conducted outside the United States. It is also the first work to examine the externalities of places of worship of all five world religions. Furthermore, it is the first study that analyzes the effect of bell ringing on the adjacent residential property prices. Controlling for spatial dependence and by using potentiality variables positive externalities of places of worship within a radius of 1,000m were identified. Compared to properties beyond this threshold, price premiums of 4.8% were detected for condominiums at distances of 100m to 200m to the next place of worship. The results also show that the positive externalities near mosques do not differ from those of places of worship of other religions and that the positive effect of churches continues to be felt even after they have been deconsecrated. The influence of church bell ringing on the prices of surrounding residential properties, however, could not be substantiated.
Topic:
Economics, Religion, Property, and Price
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

12. Urban Renewal after the Berlin Wall

Author:
Gabriel Ahlfeldt, Wolfgang Maennig, and Felix J. Richter
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
Urban renewal areas are popular but empirically understudied spatial planning instruments designed to prevent urban decline and induce renewal. We use a quasi-experimental research design to study the effects of 22 renewal areas implemented in Berlin, Germany, to increase housing and living quality in the aftermath of the city’s division during the Cold War period. Our results suggest that the policy has helped reduce (increase) the number of buildings in poor (good) condition by 25% (10%). Property prices increased at an annual rate of 0.4-1.7% according to our preferred estimates. Evidence is weak at best, however, for positive housing externalities. More generally, our findings indicate that the efficiency of program evaluations for place based -policies using quasi-experimental methods increases with the number of targeted areas and areas that provide the counterfactual.
Topic:
Economics, Urban, Property, Revitalization, and Redevelopment
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

13. Perceived Externalities of Cell Phone Base Stations Stations – The Case of Property Prices in The Case of Property Prices in Hamburg, Germany Hamburg, Germany

Author:
Sebastian Brandt and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
We examine the impact of cell phone base stations on prices of condominiums in Hamburg, Germany. This is the first hedonic pricing study on this subject for real estates in Europe and the first worldwide which examines the price impact of base stations within a whole metropolis. We distinguish between individual masts and groups of masts. Based on a data set of over 1,000 base stations set up in Hamburg, we find that only immediate proximity to groups of antenna masts is perceived as harmful by residents of nearby condominiums. For individual masts, however, no effect on residential property prices in the surrounding areas has been observed indicating that cell phone service providers should prevent installation of groups of masts in a single location. We control for spatial dependence and show that the influence of cell phone base stations on adjacent residential property prices can be overestimated, if other negative externalities that are typically correlated with the proximity to base stations are neglected.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Property, and Cell Phone Base Stations
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, and Hamburg

14. The Story of an Alien(ation): Real Estate Ownership Problems of Non-Muslim Foundations and Communities in Turkey

Author:
Dilek Kurban and Kezban Hatemi
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The purpose of this report is to tell the story of the real estate ownership problem experienced by non-Muslim foundations since the Ottoman period, and to discuss to what extent laws enacted during the EU accession process have been effective in solving this problem. The second section of this report, following this introduction, explains the historical background of the ownership problems of non-Muslim foundations. Following brief information about the foundation system of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of non-Muslim foundations, which constituted a part of this system, the minority regime created under the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 are discussed, and rights and freedoms of non-Muslim foundations arising from this Treaty are evaluated. In the third section, the impact of minority policies adopted by Turkey since the Treaty of Lausanne regarding the property rights of non-Muslim foundations are considered, and various laws and practices such as the 1926 Civil Code, the 1930 Municipalities Law, the 1935 Law on Foundations, the 1936 Declaration, and the inclusion of non-Muslim foundations among seized foundations are analyzed. Policies of taking over the immovables of non-Muslim foundations implemented since the 1960s pursuant to the so-called the 1936 Declaration and the ‘seized foundation’ practice are discussed, by giving concrete examples. The legislation developed to solve the problems of non-Muslim foundations during Turkey’s accession to the EU is evaluated in the fourth section, and lawsuits referred to the ECtHR because of the inadequacy of these reforms are reviewed in the fifth section. After discussing, in the sixth section, the reasons of the inadequacy of the reforms made within the context of harmonization with the EU in solving problems of non-Muslim foundations, concrete proposals are made for solving continuing real estate ownership problems of non-Muslim foundations in the seventh and last section. The list of immovables taken from non-Muslim foundations and the list of non-Muslim foundations included among ‘seized foundations’ are given in the annexes
Topic:
Islam, History, Minorities, European Union, Property, Ottoman Empire, and Real Estate
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

15. The Chilean agricultural transformation during the second half of the twentieth century: A story of institutional change

Author:
Antonio Saravia
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
The second half of the twentieth century witnessed a dramatic transformation of the Chilean agricultural sector. From accounting for only five percent of the value of Chile’s total exports in the late 1960s, agricultural exports grew to account for more than 30 percent of this value in the mid 1990s. Using a modified neoclassical growth formulation, we show that the transformation of the Chilean agricultural sector can be associated with institutional changes or modifications to the sector’s basic functioning structure. In particular, our historical review shows that changes in the definition of property rights over land, caused by the Chilean agrarian reform first and the general economic reform later, seem to have greatly caused the changes in the sector’s levels of investment and production.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Institutions, Land Rights, and Property
Political Geography:
South America and Chile

16. Engendering Property Rights: Women’s Insecure Land Tenure and its Implications for Development Policy in Kenya and Uganda

Author:
Kanika Mak
Publication Date:
05-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
The importance of women’s contributions to the predominantly agrarian societies of Kenya and Uganda contrasts sharply with the inequity and insecurity these women face in their ability to own, inherit, manage, and dispose of land and property. This paper examines how gender equality in the design and implementation of property rights in East Africa can promote development as well as enhance the status of women in patriarchal societies. Women’s insecure land tenure stems specifically from deficiencies in the constitutional order, institutional arrangements, and social norms that govern property rights systems. Accordingly, recommendations for reform in these three areas share the ultimate goal of making property rights systems not only more equitable, but also more effective.
Topic:
Development, Women, Land, and Property
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, and Africa