The Conservation easement has become a popular tool for land protection in the past few decades. Whether this development restriction will necessarily decrease the land value is an empirical question. This study employs a hedonic pricing approach to test empirically the effects of conservation easements on land values. The econometric results indicate that conservation easements can slightly increase the land values, but the effect is statistically insignificance. Considering the limited dataset, the interpretation of the results warrant some caution. / Master of Science

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摘 要 目前我國地價制度是以公告土地現值為核心，但現行公告土地現值嚴重偏離市價，區段內各筆土地相對值極不合理，以此作為課稅稅基及徵收補償的依據，違背賦稅公平原則，為避免稅負漏損，落實漲價歸公，並於土地徵收時作到完全補償，讓公告土地現值趨近於市價，是現階段政府平均地權土地政策「價」的目標。 本研究即以此為論述出發點，從房地總價分離地價的根本查估問題導入，房地分離地價雖是現行公告土地現值查估最重要的價格來源基礎，但因公告土地現值掺雜了素地價和房地分離地價，造成「價」的定位不清、性質不明。經本研究實證結果發現，素地價格區間值相對於房地分離地價是較穩定且乖離率較低，房地分離地價會因建物存在狀態不同而異，且求算過程易受三個貢獻學說爭議的影響，不若素地地價單純，分離地價因含有超額利潤，有重複課稅之嫌，故公告土地現值及基準地價應以定位為「素地價」為宜。 採聯合貢獻所分離出來的地價較採土地貢獻分離地價，更接近素地地價，且與周邊的地價較為均衡，因此房地價格的分離方式應以聯合貢獻說較為合理。現行地價調查估計規則條文過於簡陋，應徹底修訂和不動產估價技術規則接軌，將房地分離方式納入聯合貢獻說的運用，採聯合貢獻分算房地價格時，分算基礎應以含間接成本的建物成本價格為宜，且不動產估價技術規則有關房地分離的相關法規，應予整合統一，房地分離估價方法定義、房地價值比率求算方式，應予明訂。 本研究建議採「價稅分離」，將公告土地現值功能用途單純化，使不同需求之地價回歸其功能目的，讓地政機關查估地價得以切實反應市價。並持續推動基準地地價查估制度，基準地查估不但具有個別宗地估價之精確度，又不失大量估價之方便性，亦能使公告土地現值更趨近於市價，應可改善現行公告土地現值查估制度的諸多缺失。 關鍵字：房地價格分離、公告土地現值、基準地、素地價、區段地價 / Currently, the core of the land value system in Taiwan is based on the Announced Current Land Value(ACLV). However, the ACLV deviates from the market value and the relationship between each parcel of land within the Land Value District is not reasonable. If the ACLV becomes part of the tax base and the foundation for compensation when the land is expropriated, it would be against the fairness and equity principle of taxation. In order to prevent tax loss, put the “Land Increment to the Public” into reality, compensate to the fullest when expropriation, the current goal of the Equalization of Right, the “Land Evaluation” of the land policy by the government is to make the ACLV approximating to the market value. Based on those issues mentioned above, this research delves into the core issue, the separation of improved property price. Although the land value separated from the improved property price is the most important foundation of the ACLV, the orientation of the value is not certain, and the nature of the value is not clear due to the ACLV is a combination of the land value from the vacant land and improved property. This thesis discovers the vacant land value range is more stable and the possibility of deviation is lower compared to the improved property price. The land value separated from the improved property will differ owing to the difference of the buildings which have already existed, and the controversy resulted from three contribution principles, which makes it more complicated than the vacant land value. If the land value separated from the improved property contains surplus profit, whether the double taxation occurs or not is in doubt. Hence, the orientation of the ACLV and the benchmark land value is better to be identified by the vacant land value. The separated land value adopting the land-build-united contribution principle approximates the vacant land value more compared to land contribution, and maintain better equilibrium status with surrounding lands. Hence the land-build-united contribution is more reasonable when separated the value from the improved property. Current articles of the “Regulations on the Land Value Investigation and Assessment” are too simplified. It needs to be totally overhauled to be in conformity with the “Regulations on the Real Estate Appraisal.” The land-build-united contribution should be incorporated for the separation of improved property price. The building cost value, which is to be deducted, should consider the indirect cost. Related stipulations of the separation of improved property price should be unified. The definition of the separation approach of improved property price and estimation of the land value ratio and the building value ratio shall be stipulated. This dissertation suggests the “separation of the evaluation and the taxation” and makes the function and purpose of the ACLV simple. When the land value identified for different function and political purpose is not directly relevant to the ACLV, the ACLV the land administration assess would reflect the market value. The land value benchmark system needs to be implemented continuously. Not only is the precision of the land value benchmark appraisal identical to the individual parcel of land appraisal, but also maintains the efficiency of the mass appraisal as well as making the ACLV closer to the market value, the implementation of the Land Value Benchmark could improve the deficiency of the current Announced Current Land Value system. Keywords: the separation of improved property price, Announced Current Land Value, Land Value Benchmark, vacant land value, District Land Value.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Climate change may change the frequency and intensity of weather events which will likely challenge human and natural systems more than normal change. Agriculture is considered one of the most vulnerable systems to climate change. The main goal of this study is to estimate the economic impact of climate change on agriculture in the Canadian prairies and to capture the impact of weather conditions on the viability of production systems along with the impact of market price effects by predicting the economic impact of climate change. A two way fixed effects panel model with time and provinces group fixed effects is calibrated to simulate a set of potential climate change and global change in prices on the economics of prairie agriculture. The predicted impact of change in rainfall, increase in temperature and rise in future global market prices indicate that climate change will have complicated nonlinear effects on prairie agriculture. The results of this study also highlight the importance of precipitation for agriculture on the Canadian prairies. Marginal impacts of the evapo-transpiration proxy, rainfall, and July relative humidity indicate direct and positive relationship between agricultural land values and water related climate variables. It verifies that agriculture in the Prairies is very vulnerable to water scarcity and land use and land value strongly depends on the precipitation. The most important finding of this study is that climate change is beneficial for Canadian prairie agriculture except for some south east regions of Alberta. Comparing the results from direct impacts of climate and price changes on land value with the results from indirect impacts through area response estimation reveals that direct impacts of climate and price change increase farmland value by 31% while the indirect impacts from different scenarios increase simulated land value by up to 51%.<p> The results from base and three scenarios in this study reveal that climate change may not be a big threat for prairie agricultural economics if farmers employ appropriate adaptation strategies such as switching between crops and introducing new crops. As a matter of fact, climate change may provide an opportunity for agricultural producers in the prairies to gain from future price and environmental change. To achieve this goal, policies to address climate change concerns need to put a greater emphasis on dealing with water deficit and scarcity. Policies that facilitate access to irrigation and crop choices will help farmers to adapt to climate change.

Climate change may change the frequency and intensity of weather events which will likely challenge human and natural systems more than normal change. Agriculture is considered one of the most vulnerable systems to climate change. The main goal of this study is to estimate the economic impact of climate change on agriculture in the Canadian prairies and to capture the impact of weather conditions on the viability of production systems along with the impact of market price effects by predicting the economic impact of climate change. A two way fixed effects panel model with time and provinces group fixed effects is calibrated to simulate a set of potential climate change and global change in prices on the economics of prairie agriculture. The predicted impact of change in rainfall, increase in temperature and rise in future global market prices indicate that climate change will have complicated nonlinear effects on prairie agriculture. The results of this study also highlight the importance of precipitation for agriculture on the Canadian prairies. Marginal impacts of the evapo-transpiration proxy, rainfall, and July relative humidity indicate direct and positive relationship between agricultural land values and water related climate variables. It verifies that agriculture in the Prairies is very vulnerable to water scarcity and land use and land value strongly depends on the precipitation. The most important finding of this study is that climate change is beneficial for Canadian prairie agriculture except for some south east regions of Alberta. Comparing the results from direct impacts of climate and price changes on land value with the results from indirect impacts through area response estimation reveals that direct impacts of climate and price change increase farmland value by 31% while the indirect impacts from different scenarios increase simulated land value by up to 51%.<p> The results from base and three scenarios in this study reveal that climate change may not be a big threat for prairie agricultural economics if farmers employ appropriate adaptation strategies such as switching between crops and introducing new crops. As a matter of fact, climate change may provide an opportunity for agricultural producers in the prairies to gain from future price and environmental change. To achieve this goal, policies to address climate change concerns need to put a greater emphasis on dealing with water deficit and scarcity. Policies that facilitate access to irrigation and crop choices will help farmers to adapt to climate change.

The Executive Yuan checked through ' land tax law 34th revised the draft ' on August 29 , the 96th year of the Republic of China, basis should revise the draft, to already suitable ' once-in-a-lifetime ' private residence land used for preferential land owner of tax rate, selling the land used for private residence again, and the person who accords with relevant regulation terms, can be once again suitable and private land used for preferential 10% of the lessons of tax rate of residence seek the land value increment tax. What influence will be there to fiscal revenues , society's fair , the economic efficiency and the tax administration this research is implementation probing into this policy through the questionnaire way? This research real example result is done into the following conclusion, first: Keep current " once-in-a-lifetime " private residence preferential tax rate and " purchase the refund of tax outside again ", revise and enlarge the preferential measure of relaxing " not restricting once-in-a-lifetime ", hide the considering of loss of tax revenues after implementing. Second: Relax personal preferential measure that house " not restricting once-in-a-lifetime ", must stipulate the condition " in 5 years before selling " among them, do not have for using or hiring out", will cause the persons who will use by oneself with for opening or tax among the lessor to donate and bear unfairly, and apt to give birth to and seek and receive both sides to dispute , increase the puzzlement of administrative litigation in vain. Third: Relax the preferential measure " not restricting once-in-a-lifetime " in the private residence , will be counted more largly and relatively have the ability to change the room because of the house level ground which the high income person has, it is relatively large and can be lightenned the tax interests of donating the burden. The house level ground that the low income person has is counted smaller and relatively has no ability to change the room, and get the unfairness phenomenon with less interests of lightenning taxes and donating the burden. Fourth: Relax the preferential measure " not restricting once-in-a-lifetime " in the private residence , will improve general people and change the will which will purchase the new room. The fifth: Relax the preferential measure " not restricting once-in-a-lifetime " in the private residence, equate government's tax subsidy to the person who sells private residence, will cause the improper disposition of resources , produce meaningless losses of the society.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-214).

The evaluation of policy-relevant economic research requires an ethical foundation. Classical liberal theory provides the requisite foundation for this dissertation, which uses various econometric tools to estimate the effects of shifting some of the property tax from buildings to land in 15 cities in Pennsylvania. Economic theory predicts that such a shift will lead to higher building activity. However, this prediction has been supported little by empirical evidence so far. The first part of the dissertation examines the effect of the land-building tax differential on the number of building permits that were issued in 219 municipalities in Pennsylvania between 1972 and 1994. For such count data a conventional analysis based on a continuous distribution leads to incorrect results; a discrete maximum likelihood analysis with a negative binomial distribution is more appropriate. Two models, a non-linear and a fixed effects model, are developed to examine the influence of the tax differential. Both models suggest that this influence is positive, albeit not statistically significant. Application of maximum likelihood techniques is computationally cumbersome if the assumed distribution of the data cannot be written in closed form. The negative binomial distribution is the only discrete distribution with a variance that is larger than its mean that can easily be applied, although it might not be the best approximation of the true distribution of the data. The second part of the dissertation uses a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to examine the influence of the tax differential on the number of building permits, under the assumption that building permits are generated by a Poisson process whose parameter varies lognormally. Contrary to the analysis in the first part, the tax is shown to have a strong and significantly positive impact on the number of permits. The third part of the dissertation uses a fixed-effects weighted least squares method to estimate the effect of the tax differential on the value per building permit. The tax coefficient is not significantly different from zero. Still, the overall impact of the tax differential on the total value of construction is shown to be positive and statistically significant. / Ph. D.

Forest property taxes play an integral role when private landowners make land use and management decisions. Economists often suggest that taxes should be neutral, thus causing no change in land use or management decisions compared to the pre-tax condition. The traditional ad valorem property tax has long been criticized, particularly as it pertains to forestry, because of its distortionary properties and inherent bias against long-rotation investments. Alternatives to the traditional forest property tax include current use assessment, productivity, yield, and site value taxes. The site value tax is a property tax on the market value of bare land only, exempting improvements. In theory, the site value tax has been championed as the only neutral property tax alternative; however, in actual application, a forest site value tax may prove to be non-neutral and, by certain measures, inequitable. The degree of the tax's neutrality can be linked to the method of tax administration and the ability of assessors to accurately determine bare land market values for a wide range of site qualities. This paper reviews literature on forest property tax alternatives and theoretically examines the efficiency of an applied forest site value tax. The adequacy and equity of a proposed forest site value tax are examined in detail and compared for two study areas: Western Oregon and Alabama; in light of local governmental budget constraints. Although the site value tax may represent a less-distortional vehicle for collecting local taxes, it is unlikely to be politically or administratively feasible. Also, given the existence of other distortions in the economy, a site value tax may not prove to be the most efficient tax in application, despite its neutral properties. / Master of Science