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How Do Differences In Property Taxes Within Cities Affect Urban Sprawl?

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  • Yan Song
  • Yves Zenou

Abstract

ABSTRACT We develop a duocentric‐city model and show that the ratio between the property tax in the suburbs and in the center has an ambiguous impact on the size of the city. We test this model by using a dataset of effective property tax rates which we developed using GIS techniques for central cities and suburbs in 445 urbanized areas. Results from the empirical analyses suggest that a lower property tax rate in the suburbs as compared to the central city is associated with more expansive urban growth and a greater level of decentralization of population and employment.

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  • Yan Song & Yves Zenou, 2009. "How Do Differences In Property Taxes Within Cities Affect Urban Sprawl?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 801-831, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jregsc:v:49:y:2009:i:5:p:801-831
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9787.2009.00616.x
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    Cited by:

    1. MIYAZAKI Tomomi & SATO Motohiro, 2018. "Property Tax and Land Use: Evidence from the 1990s reforms in Japan," Discussion papers 18072, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    2. Deininger,Klaus W. & Jin,Songqing & Liu,Shouying & Shao,Ting & Xia,Fang, 2015. "Impact of property rights reform to support China?s rural-urban integration : village-level evidence from the Chengdu national experiment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7389, The World Bank.
    3. Miyazaki, Tomomi & Sato, Motohiro, 2022. "Property tax and farmland use in urban areas: Evidence from the reform in the early 1990s in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Lehmann, Etienne & Montero Ledezma, Paola L. & Linden, Bruno Van der, 2016. "Workforce location and equilibrium unemployment in a duocentric economy with matching frictions," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 26-44.
    5. Tomomi Miyazaki & Motohiro Sato, 2019. "Property Tax Reform and Land Use: Evidence from Japan," Working Papers 181905, University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics.
    6. Klaus Deininger & Songqing Jin & Shouying Liu & Fang Xia, 2020. "Property rights reform to support China’s rural ‐ urban integration: household‐level evidence from the Chengdu experiment," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(1), pages 30-54, January.
    7. Ermini, Barbara & Santolini, Raffaella, 2015. "Differentiated property tax and urban sprawl in Italian urbanized areas," MPRA Paper 65460, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Yan Song & Yves Zenou, 2009. "How Do Differences In Property Taxes Within Cities Affect Urban Sprawl?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 801-831, December.
    9. Groves, Jeremy R., 2009. "The impact of positive property tax differentials on the timing of development," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 739-748, November.
    10. Ying, Jiang Qian, 2024. "Optimization of regulation and fiscal policies for urban residential land use and traffic network management," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    11. Chen, Yong, 2020. "Effects of development tax on leapfrog sprawl in a thinly traded land market," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    12. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing & Liu, Shouying & Xia, Fang, 2015. "Household-level impacts of property rights reform in peri-urban China: Evidence from the Chengdu National Experiment," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205753, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Deininger,Klaus W. & Jin,Songqing & Liu,Shouying & Xia,Fang, 2015. "Impact of property rights reform to support China?s rural-urban integration : household-level evidence from the Chengdu national experiment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7388, The World Bank.
    14. Rafael González‐Val, 2010. "The Evolution Of U.S. City Size Distribution From A Long‐Term Perspective (1900–2000)," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 952-972, December.
    15. Li, Jun, 2011. "Decoupling urban transport from GHG emissions in Indian cities--A critical review and perspectives," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3503-3514, June.
    16. Wassmer, Robert W., 2016. "Further empirical evidence on residential property taxation and the occurrence of urban sprawl," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 73-85.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns

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