Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-24DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104160
David Cuberes , Enrique Moral-Benito , Javier Quintana
This paper uses a novel dataset and the general equilibrium model in Desmet and Rossi-Hansberg (2013) to analyze the Spanish city size distribution, which is driven by three city-specific characteristics: productivity, amenities, and frictions. Counterfactual simulations show that removing cross-city variation in these characteristics leads to welfare gains and population shifts in Spain larger than those in the U.S. but smaller than in China. Moreover, policies targeting these city characteristics consistently outperform those based on population size. For example, capping the populations of the two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, reduces overall welfare.
{"title":"Urban accounting and welfare in Spain","authors":"David Cuberes , Enrique Moral-Benito , Javier Quintana","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper uses a novel dataset and the general equilibrium model in Desmet and Rossi-Hansberg (2013) to analyze the Spanish city size distribution, which is driven by three city-specific characteristics: productivity, amenities, and frictions. Counterfactual simulations show that removing cross-city variation in these characteristics leads to welfare gains and population shifts in Spain larger than those in the U.S. but smaller than in China. Moreover, policies targeting these city characteristics consistently outperform those based on population size. For example, capping the populations of the two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, reduces overall welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104160"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145415638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-03DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104157
Carlianne Patrick
Comparing properties in districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in locally designated historic districts with those in properties proposed, eligible but not designated districts, this paper estimates the differential effect on housing values of National Register and local historic district status while explicitly considering the effects of overlapping designations. Results indicate significant 9–12 % increases in property values after the district is listed on the National Register and substantial declines in prices from local district designation after accounting for their overlap with National Register districts. Sales volume increases after both types of designation. National Register listing is associated with more new construction and subdivision as well as an increase in construction financing for existing properties. Local designation is associated with more permitted renovations and less new construction and subdivision.
{"title":"The value of historic district status","authors":"Carlianne Patrick","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104157","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104157","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Comparing properties in districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in locally designated historic districts with those in properties proposed, eligible but not designated districts, this paper estimates the differential effect on housing values of National Register and local historic district status while explicitly considering the effects of overlapping designations. Results indicate significant 9–12 % increases in property values after the district is listed on the National Register and substantial declines in prices from local district designation after accounting for their overlap with National Register districts. Sales volume increases after both types of designation. National Register listing is associated with more new construction and subdivision as well as an increase in construction financing for existing properties. Local designation is associated with more permitted renovations and less new construction and subdivision.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104157"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-10DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104161
Hefan Zheng , Qiuyi Wang , Keyang Li , Jing Wu
This study examines the impact of information disclosure on housing market outcomes. Leveraging an administrative housing resale transactions dataset in Beijing, we employ a boundary discontinuity design and difference-in-differences model to explore the consequences of prohibiting school-district labels in the online listing information. Our results show that the prohibition leads to a 2.44 % reduction in transaction prices and a 19.82 % increase in the seller's time on the market for the houses corresponding to the key primary schools compared with the other houses. The extended time on the market is primarily attributed to the heightened search cost that potential buyers face in finding their ideal dwellings. Moreover, the changes in buyers' search behavior and sellers' time on the market prompt the sellers to lower the listing prices to attract potential buyers and lead to lower transaction prices. Overall, the empirical evidence highlights the importance of information disclosure during the housing search process.
{"title":"Information disclosure, search cost, and the housing market","authors":"Hefan Zheng , Qiuyi Wang , Keyang Li , Jing Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104161","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104161","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of information disclosure on housing market outcomes. Leveraging an administrative housing resale transactions dataset in Beijing, we employ a boundary discontinuity design and difference-in-differences model to explore the consequences of prohibiting school-district labels in the online listing information. Our results show that the prohibition leads to a 2.44 % reduction in transaction prices and a 19.82 % increase in the seller's time on the market for the houses corresponding to the key primary schools compared with the other houses. The extended time on the market is primarily attributed to the heightened search cost that potential buyers face in finding their ideal dwellings. Moreover, the changes in buyers' search behavior and sellers' time on the market prompt the sellers to lower the listing prices to attract potential buyers and lead to lower transaction prices. Overall, the empirical evidence highlights the importance of information disclosure during the housing search process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104161"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145332918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-13DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104159
Brian J. Asquith , Evan Mast
Local population decline has spread rapidly in the United States since 1970, with half of counties losing population between 2010 and 2020. The workhorse economic models point to net out-migration, likely driven by changing local economies and amenities, as the cause of this trend. However, we show that the share of counties with high net out-migration has not increased. Instead, falling fertility has caused migration rates that used to generate growth to instead result in decline. We use an accounting model to simulate county population from 1970 to the present and find that only 10 percent of counties would have declined during the 2010s if fertility had remained at its initial levels.
{"title":"Birth dearth and local population decline","authors":"Brian J. Asquith , Evan Mast","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104159","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104159","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Local population decline has spread rapidly in the United States since 1970, with half of counties losing population between 2010 and 2020. The workhorse economic models point to net out-migration, likely driven by changing local economies and amenities, as the cause of this trend. However, we show that the share of counties with high net out-migration has not increased. Instead, falling fertility has caused migration rates that used to generate growth to instead result in decline. We use an accounting model to simulate county population from 1970 to the present and find that only 10 percent of counties would have declined during the 2010s if fertility had remained at its initial levels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104159"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104163
Liliana Garrido-da-Silva , João Correia-da-Silva
We provide a full characterisation of the socially optimal allocation of urban land to households and firms in a long narrow city with centrally located amenities. Households support linear costs of commuting to their workplace, and of visiting the centre. Firms operate under monopolistic competition, having a marginal production cost that increases exponentially with distance to the centre. We compare the socially optimal urban land use with that which emerges from market forces, and propose policy interventions to achieve city-wide welfare gains. Travel subsidies to households in proportion to firms’ price-cost margin are sufficient for the socially optimal allocation of urban land to emerge as the market equilibrium.
{"title":"Socially optimal land use in a city with central amenities","authors":"Liliana Garrido-da-Silva , João Correia-da-Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104163","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104163","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We provide a full characterisation of the socially optimal allocation of urban land to households and firms in a long narrow city with centrally located amenities. Households support linear costs of commuting to their workplace, and of visiting the centre. Firms operate under monopolistic competition, having a marginal production cost that increases exponentially with distance to the centre. We compare the socially optimal urban land use with that which emerges from market forces, and propose policy interventions to achieve city-wide welfare gains. Travel subsidies to households in proportion to firms’ price-cost margin are sufficient for the socially optimal allocation of urban land to emerge as the market equilibrium.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104163"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145473731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-19DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104138
Roland Füss , Kathleen Kürschner Rauck , Alois Weigand
In a three-dimensional topographic model of Switzerland, we study how the view at photovoltaic (PV) systems affects residential real estate. Our hedonic difference-in-differences regressions provide evidence that the view at a PV system is associated with lower residential rents. We consider different view types to examine amplifiers and attenuators of these negative externalities. Using municipal voting results and data on electric vehicles, we document causal pathways of the effect that align with stated and lived preferences for sustainability. Similar causal pathways of negative externalities are evident through municipalities’ solar energy production potential and their local demand elasticities for housing.
{"title":"Residential rent externalities of photovoltaic systems: The relevance of view","authors":"Roland Füss , Kathleen Kürschner Rauck , Alois Weigand","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104138","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104138","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a three-dimensional topographic model of Switzerland, we study how the view at photovoltaic (PV) systems affects residential real estate. Our hedonic difference-in-differences regressions provide evidence that the view at a PV system is associated with lower residential rents. We consider different view types to examine amplifiers and attenuators of these negative externalities. Using municipal voting results and data on electric vehicles, we document causal pathways of the effect that align with stated and lived preferences for sustainability. Similar causal pathways of negative externalities are evident through municipalities’ solar energy production potential and their local demand elasticities for housing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 104138"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144907313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104135
Bozong Yuan , Xinzhi Zhang
Enabling inland regions in developing countries to participate in the global market and overcome poverty remains a significant challenge. In this study, we use the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) strategy as a quasi-natural experiment exploring the impact of inland infrastructure development on the internationalization of manufacturing enterprises located over 1000 km from the ocean. Our findings indicate that the construction of ILSTC significantly increases the likelihood, by 5.6 %, of these inland enterprises engaging in international markets. Further analysis reveals that the reduction in geographical distance primarily enhances the likelihood of enterprise internationalization by boosting export and import activities, outward investment, and participation of foreign suppliers. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis shows the positive impact of the ILSTC to be more pronounced in smaller-scale companies facing stronger financial constraints. The macroeconomic impact test shows that the strategy has led to a 1.7 % increase in residents' income, a 3.5 % increase in per capita GDP, and a 7.6 % rise in per capita light intensity, contributing to narrowing the wealth gap between inland and coastal regions.
{"title":"Restoring inland prosperity: The impact of the New International Land-Sea Corridor on corporate internationalization and regional wealth gaps","authors":"Bozong Yuan , Xinzhi Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104135","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104135","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Enabling inland regions in developing countries to participate in the global market and overcome poverty remains a significant challenge. In this study, we use the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) strategy as a quasi-natural experiment exploring the impact of inland infrastructure development on the internationalization of manufacturing enterprises located over 1000 km from the ocean. Our findings indicate that the construction of ILSTC significantly increases the likelihood, by 5.6 %, of these inland enterprises engaging in international markets. Further analysis reveals that the reduction in geographical distance primarily enhances the likelihood of enterprise internationalization by boosting export and import activities, outward investment, and participation of foreign suppliers. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis shows the positive impact of the ILSTC to be more pronounced in smaller-scale companies facing stronger financial constraints. The macroeconomic impact test shows that the strategy has led to a 1.7 % increase in residents' income, a 3.5 % increase in per capita GDP, and a 7.6 % rise in per capita light intensity, contributing to narrowing the wealth gap between inland and coastal regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 104135"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144713414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-12DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104127
Naomi Hausman , Peleg Samuels , Maxime Cohen , Roy Sasson
This paper leverages new measurement of neighborhood consumption amenities to demonstrate that housing prices and rents in U.S. cities are likely determined nearly as much by access to amenities as by access to employment. We extend the Alonso–Muth–Mills model, allowing residents to derive utility from within-city trips to amenities. The model delivers standard estimable log-linear pricing equations as well as new measures of local amenities—based on a destination’s popularity during leisure hours—and of access to consumption amenities city wide. We find our amenity measures add substantial explanatory power, have large effects in magnitude, and reduce naive estimates of commute costs by 30%. Elasticities of rents with respect to employment access are 20%–50% larger than those with respect to amenity access. The findings hold using a variety of alternative measures and are neither driven by density nor fully explained by the locations of business establishments. These results suggest the potential resilience of cities to changes in employment locations.
{"title":"Urban pull: The roles of amenities and employment","authors":"Naomi Hausman , Peleg Samuels , Maxime Cohen , Roy Sasson","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104127","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104127","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper leverages new measurement of neighborhood consumption amenities to demonstrate that housing prices and rents in U.S. cities are likely determined nearly as much by access to amenities as by access to employment. We extend the Alonso–Muth–Mills model, allowing residents to derive utility from within-city trips to amenities. The model delivers standard estimable log-linear pricing equations as well as new measures of local amenities—based on a destination’s popularity during leisure hours—and of access to consumption amenities city wide. We find our amenity measures add substantial explanatory power, have large effects in magnitude, and reduce naive estimates of commute costs by 30%. Elasticities of rents with respect to employment access are 20%–50% larger than those with respect to amenity access. The findings hold using a variety of alternative measures and are neither driven by density nor fully explained by the locations of business establishments. These results suggest the potential resilience of cities to changes in employment locations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 104127"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144654104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104136
Idil Tanrisever
Promoting accessory dwelling units (ADUs), small residential backyard units, is one way that state and local governments have attempted to boost housing supply amid rising housing costs. However, homeowners worry about the impact on property values due to increased population and density. This paper studies the effect of ADU development on neighboring property values using an instrumental variable approach. I find that a 0.5 percentage point increase (the mean ADU concentration over the sample period of 2013–2021) in ADU density leads to a 3% decrease in nearby property prices. The negative spillover effects remain consistent within a 300-meter radius, after which they become statistically insignificant. The results are robust across alternative specifications and samples and the adverse effects of ADUs are more pronounced for properties with smaller lot sizes and those in low- and middle-rent neighborhoods. I provide evidence that ADU growth contributes to neighborhood externalities, including increased parking citations, domestic violence reports, illegal dumping, and neighborhood service requests, while showing no significant effects on overall or property crime.
{"title":"Spillover effects of accessory dwelling unit development","authors":"Idil Tanrisever","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104136","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104136","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Promoting accessory dwelling units (ADUs), small residential backyard units, is one way that state and local governments have attempted to boost housing supply amid rising housing costs. However, homeowners worry about the impact on property values due to increased population and density. This paper studies the effect of ADU development on neighboring property values using an instrumental variable approach. I find that a 0.5 percentage point increase (the mean ADU concentration over the sample period of 2013–2021) in ADU density leads to a 3% decrease in nearby property prices. The negative spillover effects remain consistent within a 300-meter radius, after which they become statistically insignificant. The results are robust across alternative specifications and samples and the adverse effects of ADUs are more pronounced for properties with smaller lot sizes and those in low- and middle-rent neighborhoods. I provide evidence that ADU growth contributes to neighborhood externalities, including increased parking citations, domestic violence reports, illegal dumping, and neighborhood service requests, while showing no significant effects on overall or property crime.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 104136"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144810060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-01Epub Date: 2025-07-04DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104134
Zhilong Qin , Xiaoguang Chen , Luoye Chen
We quantify the air quality impact of China's first major HSR line connecting Beijing and Shanghai, operational since June 30, 2011. Using high-resolution satellite data, we find a 6.2 % reduction in particulate matter concentrations in counties served by the HSR during the six months following its opening, with effects strengthening over time and persisting for at least two years. These improvements are larger in counties with HSR stations, high interregional travel demand, or limited alternative transportation options. We estimate that the HSR opening yields external health benefits of approximately CNY 21 billion annually, accounting for a substantial portion of its construction costs.
{"title":"High-speed rail opening and urban air quality","authors":"Zhilong Qin , Xiaoguang Chen , Luoye Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104134","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104134","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We quantify the air quality impact of China's first major HSR line connecting Beijing and Shanghai, operational since June 30, 2011. Using high-resolution satellite data, we find a 6.2 % reduction in particulate matter concentrations in counties served by the HSR during the six months following its opening, with effects strengthening over time and persisting for at least two years. These improvements are larger in counties with HSR stations, high interregional travel demand, or limited alternative transportation options. We estimate that the HSR opening yields external health benefits of approximately CNY 21 billion annually, accounting for a substantial portion of its construction costs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"114 ","pages":"Article 104134"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144597466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}