Dynamics of the greenbelt amenity effect on the land market - The case of Seoul's greenbelt

Seoul's greenbelt has been maintained for twenty years with little change, although Seoul has grown rapidly. Therefore, Seoul's greenbelt is interesting to examine for the dynamic impacts of a greenbelt regulation in a growing city. These impacts are examined in this article which also exploits a unique time series of Seoul property values (1970-1989). The results show that the amenity value of Seoul's greenbelt is quite high. However, the marginal value of greenbelt accessibility has been decreasing since 1980, in notable contrast to earlier years. A simple welfare analysis demonstrates that as the city grows, the greenbelt eventually loses its efficiency as a policy tool, even though earlier it may have achieved economic efficiency.