A question of title: Property rights and asset values

    Authors

    T. J. Miceli; H. J. Munneke; C. F. Sirmans;G. K. Turnbull

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Reg. Sci. Urban Econ.

    Keywords

    Land title system; Property rights; Recording system; Torrens system; PROPENSITY SCORE; LAND; SYSTEMS; CAUSAL; Economics; Environmental Studies; Urban Studies

    Abstract

    This paper examines the impact of land title systems on property values. The predominant system in the U.S. and a few other countries, the recording system, awards title to claimants over current possessors, whereas the predominant system throughout most of the world, the registration system, awards title to the current possessor. The theory illustrates that the title system effect on asset value depends on property-specific factors like the risk of a claim and title system characteristics like transactions costs. A natural experiment in Cook County, Illinois, where both systems existed side-by-side from 1897 through 1996, allows a test of the theory. The evidence for commercial and industrial properties reveals that parcels tend to self-select into the two systems as expected with registration enhancing value once the self-selection effects are removed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

    Journal Title

    Regional Science and Urban Economics

    Volume

    41

    Issue/Number

    6

    Publication Date

    1-1-2011

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    499

    Last Page

    507

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000297879900001

    ISSN

    0166-0462

    Share

    COinS