Revisiting the Boston data set - Changing the units of observation affects estimated willingness to pay for clean air

In the extended topical sphere of Regional Science, more scholars are addressing empirical questions using spatial and spatio-temoral data. An emerging challenge is to alert “new arrivals” to existing bodies of knowledge that can inform the ways in which they structure their work. It is a particular matter of opportunity and concern that most of the data used is secondary. This contribution is a brief review of questions of system articulation and support, illuminated retrospectively by a deconstruction of the Harrison and Rubinfeld (1978) Boston data set and hedonic house value analysis used to elicit willingness to pay for clean air.

The Interaction between Race and Nativity on the Housing Market: Homeownership and House Value of Black Immigrants in the United States

There is extensive research investigating race and nativity disparities in the US housing market, but little focuses on the group representing the intersection of the two literatures. This study investigates whether black immigrants are disadvantaged due to racial stratification or are able to leverage human or ethnic capital into positive housing market outcomes compared to US-born blacks. I find that racial stratification affects the housing market outcomes of black immigrants. However, high homeownership and house value relative to US-born blacks suggest that immigrants are able to use ethnic community capital to avoid some of the disadvantage experienced by native-born blacks.

Hedonic Vices: Fixing Inferences about Willingness to Pay in Recent House-Value Studies

A key tool for studying the demand for neighborhood amenities and estimating the benefits from amenity improvements is a regression of house value on amenity levels, controlling for housing characteristics. Several scholars have developed methods to address the methodological challenges, such as endogeneity, faced by these “hedonic” regressions. Unfortunately, however, some recent studies neglect basic principles of hedonic estimation in Rosen [(1974). Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure Competition. Journal of Political Economy, 82 (1), 34–55]. After providing conceptual background, this article explains these hedonic “vices” and how to avoid them. We focus on inappropriate functional forms, inappropriate control variables, and misinterpretation of hedonic regression results. Our analysis is supported using data from the Cleveland area in 2000 and a simulation model.