Research
Housing - Other
Other Housing Research
| "What Is a Tree Worth? Green-city Strategies and Housing Prices." (with Susan Wachter) | |
| Date | April 2007 |
| Publication | Real Estate Economics |
| Subject | Housing and Environment |
| Keywords | Housing price; Social capital; Signaling; Tree planting |
| Citation | Wachter, Susan M. and Wong, Grace, "What is a Tree Worth? Green-City Strategies and Housing Prices". Real Estate Economics, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2008 |
| Abstract | We investigate the correlation between curb-side tree plantings and housing price movements in Philadelphia from 1998 to 2003, comparing two programs, one by the Philadelphia Horticultural Society that requires block-group effort that focuses on low-income neighbourhoods and the other by the Fairmount Park Commission that is individual-based without specific target areas. A 7 to 11 percent price differential is identified within 4000ft of the Fairmount tree plantings. We argue that this is largely driven by either social capital creation or a signaling mechanism, on the top of an intrinsic tree value (around 2 percent). Findings using the PHS tree program suggest that development of social capital or environmentally-conscious behavior might be a less important channel. Any positive changes brought by the PHS tree plantings were not detected with sufficient statistical power. |
| "Is Sars a Poor Man’s Disease? Socioeconomic Status and Risk Factors for Sars Transmission" | |
| Date | November 2008 (under Review) |
| Subject | Housing and Health |
| Keywords | Sars; Socioeconomic status; Income; Education |
| Abstract | This paper investigates the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong. A negative and significant correlation is identified between income and SARS incidence rates, while no similar relationship is found using education level. |
| "What Is a Tree Worth? Green-city Strategies and Housing Prices." (with Susan Wachter) | |
| Date | September 2004 |
| Publication | Journal of European Economics Association Papers and Proceedings |
| Subject | Financial Intermediation and Development |
| Keywords | Indian social banking; Poverty; Credit and Savings |
| Citation | Burgess, Robin, Rohini Pande, and Grace Wong, "Banking for the Poor: Evidence from India". Journal of the European Economic Association, 2005, vol. 3, issue 2-3, pages 268-278 |
| Abstract | State led credit and savings programs have been implemented in numerous low income countries, but their success in reaching the poor remains widely debated. We report on research which exploits the policy features of the Indian social banking program to provide evidence on this issue. |