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WELFARE GAINS FROM REMOVING LAND‐USE DISTORTIONS: AN ANALYSIS OF URBAN CHANGE IN POST‐APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA *
Author(s) -
Brueckner Jan K.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.171
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1467-9787
pISSN - 0022-4146
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9787.1996.tb01102.x
Subject(s) - welfare , white (mutation) , consumption (sociology) , distortion (music) , economics , core (optical fiber) , aggregate data , natural resource , geography , political science , sociology , market economy , medicine , amplifier , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , materials science , cmos , pathology , electronic engineering , engineering , composite material , gene , law
. This paper analyzes the effect of eliminating apartheid land‐use restrictions in South Africa using a simplified version of the standard urban model. When freedom of residential location is granted, black township residents compete for land near the center of the core cities, pushing white residents to less accessible locations. Black consumption rises and white consumption falls in response, but the increase in total land rent is sufficient to compensate for white losses. The resulting aggregate welfare gain is a natural consequence of eliminating the distortion imposed by the apartheid system. These conclusions are robust to a number of modifications of the basic model.