The economics of land transfer and title insurance

In the presence of uncertainty over the title of land (due to fraud or error), a legal system can protect either the current (innocent) owner, or a previous owner who claims title. The predominant system in the United States generally awards title to the latter in the event of legitimate claim. Thus, current owners frequently purchase title insurance to provide indemnification in the event of a loss. In contrast, the Torrens system awards title to the current owner, but provides for indemnification of any legitimate claimants. We evaluate these two systems and argue that if transaction costs are low, both promote efficient assignment of title (according to the Coase Theorem), but if transaction costs are high, the Torrens system is more likely to award title to the party that values it the most (namely, the current possessor).     

The role of planning in achieving indigenous land justice and community goals

This paper suggests that the capacity of indigenous groups to engage effectively in a range of planning activities is crucial to achieving land justice and community goals. This argument is relevant in the face of long-standing tensions between indigenous peoples residing in post-settler societies and nation-states such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand over questions of land and natural resource use. The paper argues that effective planning is crucial for (i) protecting indigenous interests by engaging the planning activities of the state, (ii) the successful acquisition of lands through legal land claim processes, and (iii) helping indigenous communities achieve their goals by implementing effective community-based planning processes.     

Land use externalities, open space preservation, and urban sprawl

Parcel data on residential land conversion are used to investigate how land use externalities influence the rate of development and modify policies designed to manage urban growth and preserve open space. Several “smart growth” policies are found to significantly influence land conversion, including a development clustering policy that concentrates development and generates preserved open space. In addition to directly affecting a parcel's hazard rate of conversion, this policy is found to affect neighboring parcels' conversion by generating a positive open space externality that hastens their development. The implication that the clustering policy could generate a more sprawled pattern of development is explored using spatial simulation.     

The housing question in Japan

This article first examines how bad housing conditions are in Japan based on international comparisons. The next question is whether the extremely high land prices in Japan can be explained by economic logic. We then turn to more specific housing policy questions that are peculiar to or important in Japan, such as the tax advantages of owning land that have caused under-utilization of land and the reasons why the average size of Japanese rental housing is so small.     

失地农民社会保障需求与供给分析

失地农民的土地保障功能正逐渐消失，而其他形式的社会保障基本上还没有建立起来，失地农民的生活风险凸现。我国失地农民社会保障供给和需求之间严重不平衡，缺口较大，有必要建立失地农民社会保障体系，以维护社会稳定。建立失地农民社会保障制度可以营造稳定的发展环境；提高土地管理效率；加快农民向城镇居民的转变；有利于扩大社会保障网，增强社会保障的调节功能；有利于促进人力资本的投资发展。     

Land conservation and tenure security in Kenya: Boserup's hypothesis revisited

Land conservation technologies used by farmers are known to play an important role in improving farm incomes and household welfare in the long run. For this reason substantial investments have been made in research to improve agricultural technologies in various parts of the world, from the development of new crop varieties to new practices of land management. This paper explores the impact of land rights among other factors on adoption of soil and water conservation practices. The study further tests for Boserup's hypothesis (correlation between population density, land conservation and property rights) using panel survey data collected from farming households. The key findings of the paper are that property right regimes and population density affect both the decision to conserve land as well as the type of conservation practices used by farmers. The results further suggest a positive correlation between land tenure security and population density, thus supporting Boserup's hypothesis. The findings call for pursuit of both short-term and long-term policy measures that offer incentives for land conservation through government initiatives and participation of local communities.     

北京市农村集体建设用地规划管理研究

通过分析北京农村集体建设用地规划管理现状,明确农村集体建设用地规划管理工作中存在的问题以及根源,提出符合北京实际的农村集体建设用地规划管理体系建议,为进行社会主义新农村建设构建良好的制度框架,保障新一轮北京城市总体规划在部区的有效实施.     

中国农村土地制度变迁:一个产权的视角

农地制度历来是中国农村变革的关键,其要义在于产权。本文从产权角度对建国后中国农地制度变迁作了简要分析。作者认为,产权的界定与实施决定着产权的经济绩效。土地改革以来各种农地制度创新形式的不同经济绩效都与产权清晰程度和实施机制有关。     

A landscape approach for assessing the biodiversity value of indigenous forest remnants: Case study of the Manawatu/Wanganui region of New Zealand

To halt the decline of biodiversity in New Zealand, the government has formulated a strategy of maintaining and restoring a full range of remaining natural habitats to a healthy functioning state. Many indigenous forest remnants exist on private land, and these could be utilised to increase biodiversity. Resources for conservation of forest remnants are limited, so they must be used wisely to deliver the greatest possible biodiversity gain. This paper presents a rapid method for valuing the biodiversity of a region's indigenous forest remnants to help prioritise conservation resources. The region is divided into environmentally distinct areas called land environments. A detailed land-cover map is derived from satellite imagery and used to estimate the proportion of natural habitats remaining in each land environment; from this the biodiversity value of any forest remnant may be calculated. The method is rapid and does not require detailed biodiversity information. When combined with conservation costs, it may be used to create a priority list of forest remnants for conservation. The Manawatu/Wanganui region of New Zealand is used as a case study to demonstrate the method.     

中国的房价与地价:理论、实证和政策分析

本文采用四象限模型、格兰杰因果检验和误差修正模型等分析方法，从理论、实证和政策等方面对中国房价与地价关系以及市场结构和政府供地方式的转变对二者关系的影响进行系统、深入地研究，并对进一步规范房地产市场秩序，理顺地价和房价形成机制等提出政策建议。研究结果表明，短期内房价决定地价，长期内二者相互影响。与协议出让方式相比，土地招拍挂出让通过促进土地市场的买方竞争、降低房地产增量市场的垄断性，在显化土地价格的同时，降低了地价对房价的影响程度。