Template-Type:  ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series:  Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 03/23/2019
Revision-Date: 01/23/2023
Number: 19-023/VIII
Author-Name: Hans Koster
Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Title: The Welfare Effects of Greenbelt Policy: Evidence from England
Abstract: I measure the economic effects of greenbelts that prohibit new construction beyond
a predefined urban fringe and therefore act as urban growth boundaries. I focus on England,
where 13% of the land is designated as greenbelt land. I provide reduced-form evidence and
estimate a quantitative equilibrium model that includes amenities, housing supply, a traffic
congestion externality, agglomeration forces, productivity, and household location choices.
Greenbelt policy generates positive amenity effects, but also strongly reduces housing supply. I
find that greenbelts increase welfare because amenity effects are sufficiently strong. At the same
time, however, greenbelts decrease housing affordability by limiting housing supply.

Classification-JEL: R52, R13, R30, R41, H41
Keywords: housing, supply constraints, land use regulation, greenbelts, urban growth
boundary, open space
File-Url: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/19023.pdf
File-Format:  application/pdf
File-Size: 5711263 bytes
Handle:  RePEc:tin:wpaper:20190023