10.2190/7VJV-W0CB-XWFY-1ER8 7VJVW0CBXWFY1ER8 3 Development Taxation and Conversion of Low Intensity Land Uses on the Urban Fringe 159 169 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 7VJVW0CBXWFY1ER8.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=7VJVW0CBXWFY1ER8 2 Dennis C. Cory Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Arizona, Tucson Failure to adequately account for the user cost component of land use changes can lead to the premature and irreversible conversion of low intensity land uses to higher intensity use on the urban fringe. Development taxation (i.e., the imposition of an <i>ad valorem</i> tax on the transaction of converting land to higher intensity use) has been advocated as a practicable land use tool for guiding the land conversion process both spatially and temporally. This article argues that sole reliance on this taxation technique is unwarranted since important sources of inefficiency are introduced by uncertainty, irreversibility, and political feasibility considerations inherent in the development process. The advantages of integrated land use programs, utilizing a mixture of incentive and regulatory control tools, are discussed. B. Siegan II, <i>Other People's Property</i>, Lexington Books, Lexington, Massachusetts, 1976. M. L. McMillan, Open Space Preservation in Developing Areas: An Alternative Policy, <i>Land Economics, 50</i>, pp. 410-418, November 1975. P. Crosson and R. B. Hass, Agricultural Land, in <i>Current Issues in Natural Resources Policy</i>, P. R. Portney (ed.), Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 1982. C. A. M. Santana and R. M. Adams, Projected Cropland Requirements and Land Availability for Major U. S. Production Regions, <i>Western Journal of Agricultural Economics, 6</i>:1, pp. 69-82, July 1981. H. Hotelling, The Economics of Exhaustible Resources, <i>Journal of Political Economy</i>, pp. 137-175, April 1931. R. M. Solow, The Economics of Resources, or Resources of Economics, <i>American Economic Review, Paper & Proceedings, LXIV</i>, pp. 1-14, May 1974. G. C. Bjork, Property Rights, Scarcity, and Economic Rent: Some Considerations for Land Use Planning, in <i>Economic Issues in Land Use Planning</i>, D. M. Sorensen and H. H. Stoevener (eds.), Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Special Report 469, 1977. J. McInerney, The Simple Analytics of Natural Resource Economics, <i>Journal of Agricultural Economics</i>, pp. 31-52, January 1975. J. Tinbergen, Four Alternative Policies to Restore Balance of Payments Equilibrium, <i>Econometrica, 20</i>, pp. 372-390, July 1952. S. Rose-Ackerman, Effluent Charges: A Critique, <i>Canadian Journal of Economics, VI</i>, pp. 512-528, November 1973. M. L. McMillan, Open Space Preservation in Developing Areas: An Alternative Policy, Reply, <i>Land Economics, 51</i>, pp. 385-393, November 1975. E. C. Pasour, Jr., "Open Space Preservation in Developing Areas: An Alternative Policy," Comment, <i>Land Economics, 51</i>, pp. 382-384, November 1975. P. Bohm, Pollution, Purification, and the Theory of External Effects, <i>Swedish Journal of Economics, LXXII</i>:2, pp. 153-166, 1970. H. E. Conklin and W. R. Bryant, Agricultural Districts: A Compromise Approach to Agricultural Preservation, <i>American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 56</i>, pp. 607-613, August 1974. A. F. Ramsey and F. L. Corty, Conversion of Prime Agricultural Land to Nonagricultural Uses on One Area of the Sunbelt, <i>Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics, 14</i>:2, pp. 23-29, December 1982.