Homevoters vs. leasevoters: A spatial analysis of airport effects

Gabriel Ahlfeldt and Wolfgang Maennig

Journal of Urban Economics, 2015, vol. 87, issue C, 85-99

Abstract: We use a public referendum on a new aviation concept in Berlin, Germany, as a natural experiment to analyze how the interaction of tenure and capitalization effects influences the outcome of direct democracy processes. We distinguish between homevoters, i.e., voters who are homeowners, and leasevoters, i.e., voters who lease their homes. We expect that homevoters would be more likely to support initiatives that positively affect the amenity value of a neighborhood because some of the related benefits of leasevoters are neutralized by adjustments in market rents. Likewise, homevoters would be more likely to oppose initiatives that negatively affect the amenity value of a neighborhood. Our empirical results are consistent with these expectations, implying that public votes on local public goods do not necessarily reflect the spatial distribution of welfare effects in mixed-tenure environments.

Keywords: Airport; Berlin; Homevoter; Leasevoter; Noise; Referendum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D61 D62 H41 H71 I18 L83 R41 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (50)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Homevoters vs. Leasevoters: A Spatial Analysis of Airport Effects (2013)
Working Paper: Homevoters vs. leasevoters: a spatial analysis of airport effects (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:juecon:v:87:y:2015:i:c:p:85-99

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2015.03.002

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