Social Interaction and Urban Sprawl

Various authors, most notably Putnam (2000), have argued that low-density living reduces social capital and thus social interaction, and this argument has been used to buttress criticisms of urban sprawl. If low densities in fact reduce social interaction, then an externality arises, validating Putnam's critique. The paper tests this premise using data from the Social Capital Benchmark Survey. In the empirical work, social interaction measures for individual survey respondents are regressed on census-tract density and a host of household characteristics, using an instrumental-variable approach to control for the potential endogeneity of density.Urban sprawl; Social capital

Social Interaction and Urban Sprawl

Various authors, most notably Putnam (2000), have argued that low-density living reduces social capital and thus social interaction, and this argument has been used to buttress criticisms of urban sprawl. If low densities in fact reduce social interaction, then an externality arises, validating Putnam’s critique. In choosing their own lot sizes, consumers would fail to consider the loss of interaction benefits for their neighbors when lot size is increased. Lot sizes would then be inefficiently large, and cities excessively spread out. The paper tests the premise of this argument (the existence of a positive link between interaction and density) using data from the Social Capital Benchmark Survey. In the empirical work, social interaction measures for individual survey respondents are regressed on census-tract density and a host of household characteristics, using an instrumental-variable approach to control for the potential endogeneity of density.

Multiple Taxation: The Supreme Court Lets Down the Bars

Multiple Taxation: The Supreme Court Lets Down the Bar

PNU & DCU Research Digest Vol.1 2017

A Research Digest highlighting the research conducted by students of Business Administration under the supervision of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University & Dublin City University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabi

PNU & DCU Research Digest Vol.2 2018

A Research Digest highlighting the research conducted by students of Business Administration under the supervision of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University & Dublin City University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabi