The Homevoter Hypothesis

The Homevoter Hypothesis
Author: William A. Fischel
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2009-07-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780674036901

Just as investors want the companies they hold equity in to do well, homeowners have a financial interest in the success of their communities. If neighborhood schools are good, if property taxes and crime rates are low, then the value of the homeowner’s principal asset—his home—will rise. Thus, as William Fischel shows, homeowners become watchful citizens of local government, not merely to improve their quality of life, but also to counteract the risk to their largest asset, a risk that cannot be diversified. Meanwhile, their vigilance promotes a municipal governance that provides services more efficiently than do the state or national government. Fischel has coined the portmanteau word “homevoter” to crystallize the connection between homeownership and political involvement. The link neatly explains several vexing puzzles, such as why displacement of local taxation by state funds reduces school quality and why local governments are more likely to be efficient providers of environmental amenities. The Homevoter Hypothesis thereby makes a strong case for decentralization of the fiscal and regulatory functions of government.

Making the Grade

Making the Grade
Author: William A. Fischel
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2009-11-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0226251314

A significant factor for many people deciding where to live is the quality of the local school district, with superior schools creating a price premium for housing. The result is a “race to the top,” as all school districts attempt to improve their performance in order to attract homebuyers. Given the importance of school districts to the daily lives of children and families, it is surprising that their evolution has not received much attention. In this provocative book, William Fischel argues that the historical development of school districts reflects Americans’ desire to make their communities attractive to outsiders. The result has been a standardized, interchangeable system of education not overly demanding for either students or teachers, one that involved parents and local voters in its governance and finance. Innovative in its focus on bottom-up processes generated by individual behaviors rather than top-down decisions by bureaucrats, Making the Grade provides a new perspective on education reform that emphasizes how public schools form the basis for the localized social capital in American towns and cities.

The Unbounded Home

The Unbounded Home
Author: Lee Anne Fennell
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2009-09-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0300155026

Lee Anne Fennell explores the relationship between home ownership and neighbourhood, arguing that the desire for active participation in local affairs is directly linked to conern about property values. She looks at how critical issues of neighbourhood control & community composition might be addressed through this link.

Regulatory Takings

Regulatory Takings
Author: William A. Fischel
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 446
Release: 1995
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780674753884

State and federal government regulations are disciplined by property-owner coalitions whose "voice" is clearly audible in the statehouses and in Congress.

Zoning Rules!

Zoning Rules!
Author: William A. Fischel
Publisher:
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2015
Genre: Electronic books
ISBN: 9781558442887

"Zoning has for a century enabled cities to chart their own course. It is a useful and popular institution, enabling homeowners to protect their main investment and provide safe neighborhoods. As home values have soared in recent years, however, this protection has accelerated to the degree that new housing development has become unreasonably difficult and costly. The widespread Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) syndrome is driven by voters’ excessive concern about their home values and creates barriers to growth that reach beyond individual communities. The barriers contribute to suburban sprawl, entrench income and racial segregation, retard regional immigration to the most productive cities, add to national wealth inequality, and slow the growth of the American economy. Some state, federal, and judicial interventions to control local zoning have done more harm than good. More effective approaches would moderate voters’ demand for local-land use regulation—by, for example, curtailing federal tax subsidies to owner-occupied housing"--Publisher's description.

Evidence and Innovation in Housing Law and Policy

Evidence and Innovation in Housing Law and Policy
Author: Lee Anne Fennell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2017-08-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107164923

This interdisciplinary volume illuminates housing's impact on both wealth and community, and examines legal and policy responses to current challenges. Also available as Open Access.

The Economics of Zoning Laws

The Economics of Zoning Laws
Author: William A. Fischel
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 396
Release: 1987-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780801835629

Land use controls can affect the quality of the environment, the provision of public services, the distribution of income and wealth, the development of natural resources, and the growth of the national economy. The Economics of Zoning Laws is the first book to apply the modern economic theory of property rights to all major aspects of zoning. Zoning laws are neither irrational constrints on otherwise efficient markets nor disinterested attempts to correct market failure. Rather, zoning must be viewed as a collective property right, vested in local governments and administered by politicians who rationally repsond to their constituents and to developers as markets for development rights arise. The Economics of Zoning Laws develops the economic theories of property rights and public choice and applies them to three zoning controversies: the siting of a large industrial plant, the exclusionary zoning of the suburbs, and the constitutional protection of propery owners from excessive regulation. Economic and legal theory, William Fischel contends, suggest that payment of damages under the taking clause of the Constitution may provide the most effective remedy for excessive zoning regulations.

A Good Tax

A Good Tax
Author: Joan Youngman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2016
Genre: Local finance
ISBN: 9781558443426

In A Good Tax, tax expert Joan Youngman skillfully considers how to improve the operation of the property tax and supply the information that is often missing in public debate. She analyzes the legal, administrative, and political challenges to the property tax in the United States and offers recommendations for its improvement. The book is accessibly written for policy analysts and public officials who are dealing with specific property tax issues and for those concerned with property tax issues in general.

No Place Like Home

No Place Like Home
Author: Brian J. McCabe
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2016
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0190270462

In No Place Like Home, Brian McCabe challenges the ideology of homeownership as a tool for building stronger communities and crafting better citizens. McCabe argues that homeowners often engage in their communities as a way to protect their property values, and this participation leads to the politics of exclusion.

Perspectives on Property Law

Perspectives on Property Law
Author: Robert C. Ellickson
Publisher: Aspen Publishing
Total Pages: 544
Release: 2023-02-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1543856160

The purchase of this ebook edition does not entitle you to receive access to the Connected eBook on CasebookConnect. You will need to purchase a new print book to get access to the full experience including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities, plus an outline tool and other helpful resources. Perspectives on Property Law, edited by Robert C. Ellickson, Carol M. Rose, and Henry E. Smith is an interdisciplinary introduction to property law and institutions through edited and annotated readings from classic and contemporary sources. Entering its Fifth Edition, Perspectives on Property Law continues its track record of success. The authors supplement a wide selection of fascinating and essential readings on Property Law with their own commentary. This reader continues an approach tracing back to the landmark first edition—Bruce Ackerman's Economic Foundations of Property Law, published in 1975. Like all previous editions, this edition contains many selections, both classic and more recent, in law and economics. Included selections are also taken from sociology, psychology, history, philosophy, gender studies, game theory, and law and literature. New to the 5th Edition: Richard Brooks’s article on the dangers of racial discrimination from non-enforceable Restrictive Covenants. Yun-chien Chang’s chapter from a global comparative study questioning the basis for Adverse Possession. Thomas W. Merrill’s article on the Economics of Leasing. Henry E. Smith’s article on equity as meta-law and F.H. Lawson’s article on the creative use of legal concepts. Professors and students will benefit from: An assemblage of leading writings on the fundamental issues of Property Law Each selection is accompanied by notes, questions, and commentary designed to deepen student understanding A well-known and respected author team