An Empirical Approach to Land Monopoly: The Case of Barranquilla, Colombia

Abstract

A land monopoly is a theoretical “impossibility” which, nonetheless, allows for a spatial empirical approach. We specify spatial tests of land monopoly, understood as a pricing strategy where land prices can be ‘over and above’ the ones determined by city-wide location and market regulation. We use the city of Barranquilla (Colombia) as a case study. This city offers ideal conditions to investigate theories of land monopoly given extreme land concentration in its highly regulated elite northern fringe. We found no evidence of land monopoly pricing by using different specifications of the spatial tests, which conformed to standard urban economic expectations.

Keywords: Urban Land Markets; Land Monopoly; Land Price; Spatial Panel Model; Colombia; Barranquilla