Is the Government Fiscally Blind? An Empirical Examination of the Effect of the Compensation Requirement on Eminent Domain Exercises (with Gideon Parchomovsky)
October 22, 2016
We empirically test the fiscal-illusion hypothesis in the takings context in Israel. Israeli law allows local governments to expropriate up to 40 percent of any parcel without compensation. In 2001, the Israeli Supreme Court created a carve out for takings of 100 percent, requiring full compensation in such cases. We analyze data for 3,140 takings cases in Tel Aviv between 1990 and 2014. There was no disproportionate share of takings of just under 40 percent. Nor was there a long-term drop in the share of 100 percent takings after 2001. Although a short-term drop in the share of 100 percent takings followed the 2001 decision, the trend was later reversed, and the share of 100 percent takings surpassed the pre-2001 level. Our findings do not corroborate the fiscal-illusion hypothesis in its strict form. Rather, they lend qualified support to the hypothesis that takings practices are largely shaped by planning needs and fairness considerations.
Winners and Losers in Takings for Pure Public Uses: An Empirical Examination
October 22, 2016
While the distributional aspect of takings for economic development has been subject to an ongoing debate, the fairness of the distribution of takings’ benefits and burdens has never been tested for the paradigmatic case of takings for pure public purposes such as roads, parks, and public buildings. This paper provides the first empirical evidence for a distributional problem that cuts across political power and ethno-religious lines, even with such takings. I compiled data about 3,448 expropriation cases in Jerusalem, where Palestinians are 31% of the eligible voters but their voter turnout is 1%. I find that while Palestinians contributed 38% of the land taken for public uses over a period of 25 years, they benefited (at the neighborhood level) from only 10% of all the land taken at that time. However, for Jewish owners the opposite ratio exists: they contributed 4% of the land taken while benefiting from 33% of it. This finding points at the need to rethink how to take distributional considerations into account in cases of takings for pure public uses.
Expropriations in New York: A Field Study
October 22, 2016
In this work-in-progress I study the use of eminent domain in New York City.
Expropriation of land is one of the most important tools for urban development and for facilitating important public goods such as roads, parks, and public buildings. The power to take private property for public uses is considered one of the most important issues in property law and, to some, constitutional and administrative law.
Despite its importance, empirical studies on the actual use of the eminent domain power are quite rare. In this research project I take to empirically study a few of the essential issues regarding expropriations. Here are some of the topics that I'm currently engaged with.