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(Not) in my backyard? The impact of citizen initiatives on housing supply in Germany

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  • Martin, Thorsten
  • Arnold, Felix
  • Freier, Ronny

Abstract

We examine the effect of citizen initiatives on finished residential area in the German federal state of Bavaria. There is already a prominent literature on the fiscal effect of initiatives and political economic reasons that drive urban development. Yet, there is almost no literature that links the effect of citizen participation to local land use patterns. This paper attempts to fill this gap. By using neighboring initiatives as an instrument for the occurrence of an initiative in a given municipality, we identify a negative impact of initiatives on finished residential area per capita. Evaluated at the mean, this effect amounts to about 10\% regarding the finished residential area per capita. This effect takes place five to nine years after the initiative was conducted.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin, Thorsten & Arnold, Felix & Freier, Ronny, 2015. "(Not) in my backyard? The impact of citizen initiatives on housing supply in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112952, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc15:112952
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Solé-Ollé, Albert & Viladecans-Marsal, Elisabet, 2012. "Lobbying, political competition, and local land supply: Recent evidence from Spain," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 10-19.
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    9. repec:zbw:rwirep:0476 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Zareh Asatryan & Annika Havlik & Frank Streif, 2017. "Vetoing and inaugurating policy like others do: evidence on spatial interactions in voter initiatives," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 525-544, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations

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