The Dutch urban ground lease: A valuable tool for land policy?

Once heralded by both liberals and socialists as a tool for Dutch municipal governments to prevent land speculation and to implement spatial policies, a century later the Dutch ground lease (erfpacht) is now despised by many. The ground lease was the subject of strong debate in the recent past and is likely to remain so. It has been argued that lessees should have the right to become owner of the land, and this ‘right to buy’ has indeed been implemented in the land policies of several municipalities. The Dutch urban ground lease seems to be under serious pressure. Is it outdated or is it still a valuable tool for land policy? Before we answer this question, we firstly will provide an historical overview of Dutch ground lease. Secondly, the different types of ground lease will be elaborated. Thirdly, the focus will be on the urban ground lease used by Dutch municipalities and the developments in the use of this instrument. Fourthly, the recent policy changes will be dealt with, followed by an assessment.     

The restructuring of the institutional real estate portfolio in the UK

Real estate investment portfolios of financial institutions have seen dramatic changes over the last three decades or more. Historically such property investment decisions have been seen within a portfolio diversification paradigm that has sought to balance risk and return. This paper considers the role of the supply of assets in the determining and constraining the UK institutional portfolio. The supply of real estate assets not only expands during property booms but has also been transformed by a long term urban development cycle as cities adapt to cars and the ICT revolution that has brought new property forms. The research examines long term trends in investment change by disaggregating into ten property forms rather than the usual three land use sectors. It then assesses to what extent investment patterns can be explained in terms of portfolio theory, short term net returns of individual sectors or driven by the supply of real estate assets. It concludes that the supply of real assets is an overlooked explanation.     

Property rights and groundwater management in the High Plains Aquifer

Groundwater is an important natural resource that needs to be managed dynamically. Ideally, institutions governing property rights to the groundwater of low-recharge aquifers should not discourage or disincentivize groundwater users from dynamic management. We develop an empirical model to examine whether agricultural groundwater users faced with prior appropriation property rights to groundwater in western Kansas exhibit dynamic, forward-looking behavior consistent with dynamic management. We find that although farmers are allotted a time-invariant maximum amount of groundwater that they can extract each year, they still behave in a manner consistent with dynamic management. Their groundwater extraction decisions are not significantly affected by the quantity they are authorized to extract, but are instead affected by expected future crop prices, expected future energy prices, and groundwater extraction by neighbors. Our results provide evidence that farmers manage their groundwater resource dynamically, even if their property rights do not necessarily encourage or incentivize them to do so.     

管理层权力制衡强度、债务约束与企业创新投资

企业创新是国家经济可持续增长的关键，受到管理层意愿的影响，因而需要对内部经营者的权力进行制衡。以2010-2018年我国A股上市公司为研究样本，实证检验管理层权力制衡强度对企业创新投资的影响，以及不同债务约束情境下高商业信用配置、高负债水平的调节效应，此外，还考察了产权性质的差异化影响。研究表明，管理层权力制衡强度越大，企业创新投资水平越高；高商业信用强化了该促进作用，而高负债水平弱化了该促进作用。进一步研究发现，管理层权力制衡强度与企业创新投资的关系在民企中更显著；国企能够更好地获得和运用商业信用，使其高商业信用对该关系的强化效应更显著；民企具有更强的债务约束，其高负债水平对该关系的弱化效应更明显。     

股权性质、环境不确定性与技术资本配置效率

技术转化为资本，资本创造价值已经成为共识，技术资本在不同公司创造价值的作用程度不同，根源是技术资本配置效率问题。选取沪深两市2008-2013年间制造业上市公司为样本，检验了基于不同股权性质的公司环境不确定性对企业技术资本配置效率和价值的影响，研究结果表明：①企业环境不确定性程度越高，技术资本配置效率越低，并且技术资本配置偏离度在国有公司中表现为配置过度，在非国有公司表现为配置不足；②在股权性质为国有的公司中，由环境不确定性引发的技术资本配置偏离将降低企业价值，在非国有控股公司中，由环境不确定性导致的技术资本配置偏离将增加企业价值。     

Investor protection,regulation and bank risk-taking behavior

This paper examines whether the influence of investor protection on banks’ risk is channeled through banking regulation, and vice-versa, using panel data from a sample of 567 European and US banks for the 2004–2015 period. As banking regulatory factors, we consider capital stringency, activity restrictions and private monitoring, whereas as investor protection factors, we consider the level of shareholder and creditor protection. We find that banking regulation moderates the positive direct influence of investor protection on banks’ risk, while investor protection reinforces the negative direct influence of banking regulation on risk. Moreover, we show that the negative effect of national regulations on banks’ risk is more pronounced during systemic crisis years. Finally, taking into account market competition, we argue that private monitoring only has a direct effect on banks’ risk, whereas the effects of capital stringency and activity restriction are channeled through market competition.     

Regional development and migration in the Lower Basin of the Zambezi River. The importance of property rights

Globalization is associated with pressures and conflicts over natural resources, with migration, urbanization and development. The analyzes these phenomena focusing the Lower Basin of the Zambezi River in Mozambique where external demand over natural resources have been associated with huge projects on transport infrastructures, coal mining and agroforestry, somehow correlated with recurring conflicts. The approach proposes and uses a regional development model that highlights the impacts of the spatial allocation of property rights on income and migration. Results show the importance of resources ownership in the spatial profile of development and social unrest.     

试论《物权法》中的房地产登记制度

随着房地产市场的繁荣发展,房地产交易主体之间的法律关系也日益复杂,《物权法》中规定了不动产登记制度不仅有利于保障公民的财产权,也有利于保障市场交易安全。文章针对《物权法》的相关规定,提出了我国房地产登记制度的必要性以及存在的问题和完善建议。     

FROM INSTITUTIONS TO FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH: WHAT ARE THE LINKS?

This paper presents an integrated overview of the literature linking institutions, financial development, and economic growth. From the large body of research on institutional development, the paper first selects those contributions that make it possible to study the role of institutional arrangements in ameliorating/worsening the information frictions and transaction costs that characterize the development of financial markets. The paper then investigates the theoretical mechanisms by which these specific frictions affect economic growth and presents the stock of empirical evidence quantifying the impact of institutions on growth through financial development.     

Land-property markets and planning: A special case

Land use policy often intervenes in land-property markets. This raises a question that may have critical implications for land use policy: are these normal markets? This paper addresses that question: are land and property ordinary market goods, or do they lack some of the preconditions necessary for markets to work properly? We find that land-property has limited substitutability, due to the critical factor of location; qualified by location, land is limited and sometimes unique. These attributes make land and property investment assets risking speculation, warranting public intervention to mitigate negative social consequences. Land-property markets need market or administrative support to work, which planning provides through public and private agents. The paper reviews the different forms of planning and development control in land-property markets.