Unintended Effects of Environmental Policies: The Case of Urban Growth Controls and Agricultural Intensification
研究发现城市增长边界（UGB）在保护开放空间的同时，意外促使农民转向资本密集型农业，导致开放空间加速丧失和农业外部性增加，基于加州文图拉县的实证分析显示集约化率提高了16-21个百分点。
When environmental policies do not control decision-making on all margins, they can have unintended effects on the environment. We examine effects of urban growth boundaries (UGBs) on agricultural intensification. A primary goal of a UGB is to preserve open space outside the boundary; however, by eliminating the future rent stream from development, UGBs encourage landowners to adopt more capital-intensive agricultural uses. We empirically estimate UGB effects on intensification rates in Ventura County, California. Difference-in-differences estimates reveal that UGBs increased intensification rates by 16–21 percentage points. In Ventura County, policies designed to preserve open space accelerated its loss and increased agricultural externalities