IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cep/sercdp/0143.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Game of Zones: The Economics of Conservation Areas

Author

Listed:
  • Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt
  • Kristoffer Moeller
  • Sevrin Waights
  • Nicolai Wendland

Abstract

Provided there are positive external benefits attached to the historic character of buildings, owners of properties in designated conservation areas benefit from a reduction in uncertainty regarding the future of their area. At the same time, the restrictions put in place to ensure the preservation of the historic character limit the degree to which properties can be altered and thus impose a cost to their owners. We test a simple theory of the designation process in which we postulate that the optimal level of designation is chosen so as to Pareto-maximize the welfare of local owners. The implication of the model is that a) an increase in preferences for historic character should increase the likelihood of a designation, and b) new designations at the margin should not be associated with significant house price capitalization effects. Our empirical results are in line with these expectations.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Kristoffer Moeller & Sevrin Waights & Nicolai Wendland, 2013. "Game of Zones: The Economics of Conservation Areas," SERC Discussion Papers 0143, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
  • Handle: RePEc:cep:sercdp:0143
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/sercdp0143.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Florida, 2002. "Bohemia and economic geography," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 55-71, January.
    2. Douglas Noonan & Douglas Krupka, 2010. "Determinants of historic and cultural landmark designation: why we preserve what we preserve," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 34(1), pages 1-26, February.
    3. Edward L. Glaeser, Jed Kolko, and Albert Saiz, 2001. "Consumer city," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 27-50, January.
    4. Hilber, Christian A.L. & Mayer, Christopher, 2009. "Why do households without children support local public schools? Linking house price capitalization to school spending," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 74-90, January.
    5. Paul C. Cheshire & Christian A. L. Hilber, 2008. "Office Space Supply Restrictions in Britain: The Political Economy of Market Revenge," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(529), pages 185-221, June.
    6. Dehring, Carolyn A. & Depken II, Craig A. & Ward, Michael R., 2008. "A direct test of the homevoter hypothesis," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 155-170, July.
    7. Towse,Ruth, 2010. "A Textbook of Cultural Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521888721, June.
    8. Nancy Holman & Gabriel M Ahlfeldt, 2015. "No Escape? The Coordination Problem in Heritage Preservation," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(1), pages 172-187, January.
    9. Esteban Rossi-Hansberg & Pierre-Daniel Sarte & Raymond Owens, 2010. "Housing Externalities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(3), pages 485-535, June.
    10. Hans R. A. Koster & Jos N. van Ommeren & Piet Rietveld, 2016. "Historic amenities, income and sorting of households," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 203-236.
    11. Ivar Ekeland & James J. Heckman & Lars Nesheim, 2002. "Identifying Hedonic Models," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 304-309, May.
    12. N. Edward Coulson & Robin M. Leichenko, 2004. "Historic Preservation and Neighbourhood Change," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(8), pages 1587-1600, July.
    13. Rosen, Sherwin, 1974. "Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(1), pages 34-55, Jan.-Feb..
    14. Andrea Baranzini & José Ramirez & Caroline Schaerer & Philippe Thalmann (ed.), 2008. "Hedonic Methods in Housing Markets," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-0-387-76815-1, June.
    15. S.W. Creigh-Tyte, 2000. "The Built Heritage : Some British Experience," Discussion Papers (REL - Recherches Economiques de Louvain) 2000026, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    16. Asabere, Paul K & Huffman, Forrest E & Mehdian, Seyed, 1994. "The Adverse Impacts of Local Historic Designation: The Case of Small Apartment Buildings in Philadelphia," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 225-234, May.
    17. Stephanie Riegg Cellini & Fernando Ferreira & Jesse Rothstein, 2010. "The Value of School Facility Investments: Evidence from a Dynamic Regression Discontinuity Design," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 125(1), pages 215-261.
    18. Sheppard, Stephen, 1999. "Hedonic analysis of housing markets," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: P. C. Cheshire & E. S. Mills (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 41, pages 1595-1635, Elsevier.
    19. Brunner, Eric & Sonstelie, Jon & Thayer, Mark, 2001. "Capitalization and the Voucher: An Analysis of Precinct Returns from California's Proposition 174," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 517-536, November.
    20. Brueckner, Jan K. & Thisse, Jacques-Francois & Zenou, Yves, 1999. "Why is central Paris rich and downtown Detroit poor?: An amenity-based theory," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 91-107, January.
    21. Jeanette D. Snowball, 2008. "Measuring the Value of Culture," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-540-74360-6, June.
    22. Cheshire, Paul & Sheppard, Stephen, 1995. "On the Price of Land and the Value of Amenities," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 62(246), pages 247-267, May.
    23. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Wolfgang Maennig, 2011. "Homeownership and NIMBYism: A Spatial Analysis of Airport Effects," SERC Discussion Papers 0085, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    24. Gabriel Ahlfeldt, 2011. "If Alonso Was Right: Modeling Accessibility And Explaining The Residential Land Gradient," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 318-338, May.
    25. Gibbons, Stephen & Machin, Stephen, 2005. "Valuing rail access using transport innovations," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 148-169, January.
    26. Rizzo, Ilde & Throsby, David, 2006. "Cultural Heritage: Economic Analysis and Public Policy," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, in: V.A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 28, pages 983-1016, Elsevier.
    27. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M., 2011. "Blessing or curse? Appreciation, amenities and resistance to urban renewal," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 32-45, January.
    28. Douglas Noonan, 2003. "Contingent Valuation and Cultural Resources: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Literature," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 27(3), pages 159-176, November.
    29. Morris A. Davis & Francois Ortalo-Magne, 2011. "Household Expenditures, Wages, Rents," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(2), pages 248-261, April.
    30. Stock, James H & Wright, Jonathan H & Yogo, Motohiro, 2002. "A Survey of Weak Instruments and Weak Identification in Generalized Method of Moments," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(4), pages 518-529, October.
    31. V.A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (ed.), 2006. "Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1, December.
    32. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Wolfgang Maennig, 2010. "Substitutability and Complementarity of Urban Amenities: External Effects of Built Heritage in Berlin," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 285-323, June.
    33. Andrew Narwold & Jonathan Sandy & Charles Tu, 2008. "Historic Designation and Residential Property Values," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 11(1), pages 83-95.
    34. Ivar Ekeland & James Heckman & Lars Nesheim, 2002. "Identifying hedonic models," CeMMAP working papers 06/02, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    35. Ståle Navrud & Richard C. Ready (ed.), 2002. "Valuing Cultural Heritage," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1759.
    36. Oates, Wallace E, 1969. "The Effects of Property Taxes and Local Public Spending on Property Values: An Empirical Study of Tax Capitalization and the Tiebout Hypothesis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 77(6), pages 957-971, Nov./Dec..
    37. Lazrak, F. & Nijkamp, P. & Rietveld, P. & Rouwendal, J., 2011. "The market of listed heritage: An urban economic application of spatial hedonic pricing," Serie Research Memoranda 0027, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    38. Peter V. Schaeffer & Cecily Ahern Millerick, 1991. "The Impact of Historic District Designation on Property Values: An Empirical Study," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 5(4), pages 301-312, November.
    39. Halvorsen, Robert & Palmquist, Raymond, 1980. "The Interpretation of Dummy Variables in Semilogarithmic Equations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 474-475, June.
    40. Douglas S. Noonan & Douglas J. Krupka, 2011. "Making—or Picking—Winners: Evidence of Internal and External Price Effects in Historic Preservation Policies," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 39(2), pages 379-407, June.
    41. P. C. Cheshire & E. S. Mills (ed.), 1999. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 3.
    42. N. Edward Coulson & Michael L. Lahr, 2005. "Gracing the Land of Elvis and Beale Street: Historic Designation and Property Values in Memphis," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 33(3), pages 487-507, September.
    43. Coulson, N Edward & Leichenko, Robin M, 2001. "The Internal and External Impact of Historical Designation on Property Values," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 113-124, July.
    44. Paul Cheshire & Christian A. L. Hilber & Ioannis Kaplanis, 2011. "Evaluating the Effects of Planning Policies on the Retail Sector: Or do Town Centre First Policies Deliver the Goods?," SERC Discussion Papers 0066, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    45. Towse,Ruth, 2010. "A Textbook of Cultural Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521717021, June.
    46. Deborah Ann Ford, 1989. "The Effect of Historic District Designation on Single‐Family Home Prices," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 17(3), pages 353-362, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Nancy Holman, 2018. "Distinctively Different: A New Approach to Valuing Architectural Amenities," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(608), pages 1-33, February.
    2. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Wolfgang Maennig & Felix J. Richter, 2013. "Urban Renewal after the Berlin Wall," Working Papers 049, Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg.
    3. Faroek Lazrak & Peter Nijkamp & Piet Rietveld & Jan Rouwendal, 2014. "The market value of cultural heritage in urban areas: an application of spatial hedonic pricing," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 89-114, January.
    4. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Wolfgang Maennig, 2010. "Substitutability and Complementarity of Urban Amenities: External Effects of Built Heritage in Berlin," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 285-323, June.
    5. Sevrin Waights, 2019. "The preservation of historic districts—is it worth it?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 433-464.
    6. Felix Richter, 2014. "Winner Picking in Urban Revitalization Policies: Empirical Evidence from Berlin," ERSA conference papers ersa14p1424, European Regional Science Association.
    7. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M. & Maennig, Wolfgang, 2015. "Homevoters vs. leasevoters: A spatial analysis of airport effects," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 85-99.
    8. Douglas S. Noonan, 2013. "Market effects of historic preservation," Chapters, in: Ilde Rizzo & Anna Mignosa (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Cultural Heritage, chapter 17, pages i-i, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Georgios Kavetsos, 2014. "Form or function?: the effect of new sports stadia on property prices in London," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 177(1), pages 169-190, January.
    10. Vicki Been & Ingrid Gould Ellen & Michael Gedal & Edward Glaeser & Brian J. McCabe, 2014. "Preserving History or Hindering Growth? The Heterogeneous Effects of Historic Districts on Local Housing Markets in New York City," NBER Working Papers 20446, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Hans R.A. Koster & Jan Rouwendal, 2017. "Historic Amenities and Housing Externalities: Evidence from the Netherlands," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 396-420, October.
    12. Hans R. A. Koster & Jos N. van Ommeren & Piet Rietveld, 2016. "Historic amenities, income and sorting of households," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 203-236.
    13. Mirko Moro & Karen Mayor & Seán Lyons & Richard S J Tol, 2013. "Does the Housing Market Reflect Cultural Heritage? A Case Study of Greater Dublin," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(12), pages 2884-2903, December.
    14. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M., 2011. "Blessing or curse? Appreciation, amenities and resistance to urban renewal," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 32-45, January.
    15. Velma Zahirovic-Herbert & Karen Gibler, 2014. "Historic District Influence on House Prices and Marketing Duration," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 112-131, January.
    16. Rosato, Paolo & Rotaris, Lucia & Breil, Margaretha & Zanatta, Valentina, 2008. "Do We Care about Built Cultural Heritage? The Empirical Evidence Based on the Veneto House Market," Sustainability Indicators and Environmental Valuation Working Papers 42917, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    17. Douglas S. Noonan & Douglas J. Krupka, 2011. "Making—or Picking—Winners: Evidence of Internal and External Price Effects in Historic Preservation Policies," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 39(2), pages 379-407, June.
    18. Koster, Hans R.A. & van Ommeren, Jos & Rietveld, Piet, 2012. "Bombs, boundaries and buildings," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 631-641.
    19. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt, 2010. "Architektur, Ökonomie – Architekturökonomie," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 11(4), pages 340-355, November.
    20. Gabriel Ahlfeldt, 2010. "Blessing or Curse? Appreciation, Amenities and Resistance around the Berlin "Mediaspree"," Working Papers 032, Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Designation; difference-in-difference; RDD-DD; England; gentrification; heritage; property value;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cep:sercdp:0143. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/serc-papers/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.