An Examination of Vertical Equity Over Two Reassessment Cycles

This article examines vertical equity in the assessment of single-family homes over two assessment cycles in Bellingham, Washington. The two assessment periods, which are four years apart, followed two differing property appreciation periods. The 1992 reassessment followed an explosion in home values, while the 1996 reassessment came after more moderate price appreciation. The assessed value/ market value ratio is the basic tool of this study with actual sales prices assumed to be market value. Utilizing a database of 721 home sales from January, 1990 to December, 1992, this study’s empirical analysis suggests regressive vertical inequity in 1992. This situation appears to have changed in 1996. Results from a second database consisting of 835 home sales from January, 1994 through December, 1996, suggest a substantial reduction in vertical inequity. Overall, it appears that the County Assessor’s office addressed the previous problem with positive results for the average property taxpayer of Whatcom County.

Vertical Equity in the Taxation of Single Family Homes

Vertical equity in ad valorem real property taxation is the concept that all properties within a taxing jurisdiction are assessed in equal proportion to their fair market value. This study examines the assessment of single family homes in Bellingham, Washington, utilizing a database of 1,118 home sales in the southern half of Bellingham that sold during the time period of January, 1990 through June, 1994. The results of several empirical tests suggest the presence of regressive vertical inequity. It appears that higher market value homes are assessed at a lower proportion of their value (sales price) than less expensive homes. These results suggest that property taxation at the local level magnifies the regessivity of Washington State's already highly regressive state tax system. Why does this apparent regressive vertical inequity exist? The authors offer several possibilities including the propensity of wealthy homeowners to challenge property tax assessments, the difficulty of valuing the amenities inside an upper-end home, the heterogeneity of the upper-end home market coupled with a small number of transactions, and the lack of ample staff and other resources at the County Assessor's office.

The Value of a Water View: Variability over 25 Years in a Coastal Housing Market

Given a relatively inelastic supply of locations with coastal water views, the price of a water view is likely to rise during housing market upturns and fall during downturns. Using 25 years of data and more than 20,000 home sales for Bellingham, Washington, this study uses the hedonic methodology to estimate water view premiums over different phases of the housing cycle. Views are differentiated both by scope and by distance from the water. Results show real dollar premiums associated with water views move with the housing cycle, rising when housing demand and overall market prices increase and falling when the overall price of housing declines. In addition, the relative value of a view fluctuates as well

The Influence of Canadian Investment on U.S. Residential Property Values

This study is an examination of the impact of foreign investors on an American residential real estate market. Point Roberts, Washington, a real estate market that is dominated by Canadians, is the focus of the analysis. Utilizing a ten-year database of home sales, the empirical analysis suggests that the Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate and market conditions in nearby Vancouver, British Columbia, strongly influence Point Roberts residential property price levels. A rising Canadian dollar seems to motivate increased demand for Point Roberts property by Canadian investors, for example. The sensitivity of real estate prices to exchange-rate changes appears to be a three-to-six-month lagged function. In general, it appears that a higher Canadian dollar will increase the Canadian demand for Point Roberts real estate which, in turn, leads to higher transaction prices. In addition, transaction prices in Point Roberts are slightly more volatile than are prices in the Vancouver market.

FAPRI Environmental Projects 2000

Since 1995, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri (FAPRI) has been providing analytical support in several areas around the state as communities try to come to grips with various water quality issues thought to derive from production agriculture's two underlying facts of life. This report provides a summary of the lessons learned as the unit has looked at and worked with these communities. It also discusses the specific projects underway in the unit, again focusing on issues directly related to the interface problem.This project is a cooperative effort of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The work is supported by EPA grant X997396-01, Region VII U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under section 104 (b) (3). The Missouri Department of Agriculture appropriated funds to support the work in this report

Positive Approaches to Phosphorus Balancing in Southwest Missouri: Animal Manure Phosphorus Recycling Initiative

Document presented on July 12, 2001 at Crowder College, Neosho, MO and on November 6 & 7 at Water Quality Research in the White River Basin Conference in Springfield, MO.Opportunities exist to create value added animal waste fertilizer products that can be used in crop production, reducing import demands for phosphorus, and relocating phosphorus from areas of excess supply to areas of need for crop production. This paper focuses on opportunities to recycle poultry litter in southwest Missouri.This project is a cooperative effort of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The work is supported by EPA grant X997396-01, Region VII U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under section 104 (b)(3). The Missouri Department of Agriculture appropriated funds to support the work in this report

Corrigendum: An ethnically relevant consensus Korean reference genome is a step towards personal reference genomes.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13637

Genetic variability and ontogeny predict microbiome structure in a disease-challenged montane amphibian

Amphibian populations worldwide are at risk of extinction from infectious diseases, including chytridiomycosis caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Amphibian cutaneous microbiomes interact with Bd and can confer protective benefits to the host. The composition of the microbiome itself is influenced by many environment- and host-related factors. However, little is known about the interacting effects of host population structure, genetic variation and developmental stage on microbiome composition and Bd prevalence across multiple sites. Here we explore these questions in Amietia hymenopus, a disease-affected frog in southern Africa. We use microsatellite genotyping and 16S amplicon sequencing to show that the microbiome associated with tadpole mouthparts is structured spatially, and is influenced by host genotype and developmental stage. We observed strong genetic structure in host populations based on rivers and geographic distances, but this did not correspond to spatial patterns in microbiome composition. These results indicate that demographic and host genetic factors affect microbiome composition within sites, but different factors are responsible for host population structure and microbiome structure at the between-site level. Our results help to elucidate complex within- and among- population drivers of microbiome structure in amphibian populations. That there is a genetic basis to microbiome composition in amphibians could help to inform amphibian conservation efforts against infectious diseases

Incorporating non-equilibrium dynamics into demographic history inferences of a migratory marine species

ELC was supported while writing this paper by a EU Horizon 2020 Marie Slodowska Curie Fellowship, project BEHAVIOUR-CONNECT, by a Newton Fellowship from the Royal Society of London and Bayesian statistical training was supported by National Science Foundation (award DEB- 1145200). Laboratory analyses conducted by ELC were funded by a small grant from the British Ecological Society 5076 / 6118 and Bayesian analysis was supported by training from the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DEB-1145200. OEG was supported by the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) funded by the Scottish Founding Council (grant reference HR09011). Genetic data from the South African right whale samples were generated by MB and PJP with the support of UC Berkeley, University of Stockholm and University of Groningen. Computational Biology analyses were supported by the University of St Andrews Bioinformatics Unit which is funded by a Wellcome Trust ISSF award.Understanding how dispersal and gene flow link geographically separated populations over evolutionary history is challenging, particularly in migratory marine species. In southern right whales (SRWs, Eubalaena australis), patterns of genetic diversity are likely influenced by the glacial climate cycle and recent history of whaling. Here we use a dataset of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (n=1,327) and nuclear markers (17 microsatellite loci, n=222) from major wintering grounds to investigate circumpolar population structure, historical demography, and effective population size. Analyses of nuclear genetic variation identify two population clusters that correspond to the South Atlantic and Indo-Pacific ocean basins that have similar effective breeder estimates. In contrast, all wintering grounds show significant differentiation for mtDNA, but no sex-biased dispersal was detected using the microsatellite genotypes. An approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) approach with microsatellite markers compared scenarios with gene flow through time, or isolation and secondary contact between ocean basins, while modeling declines in abundance linked to whaling. Secondary-contact scenarios yield the highest posterior probabilities, implying that populations in different ocean basins were largely isolated and came into secondary contact within the last 25,000 years, but the role of whaling in changes in genetic diversity and gene flow over recent generations could not be resolved. We hypothesis that these findings are driven by factors that promote isolation, such as female philopatry, and factors that could promote dispersal, such oceanographic changes. These findings highlight the application of ABC approaches to infer connectivity in mobile species with complex population histories and currently low levels of differentiation.PostprintPeer reviewe