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Abstract
We examine several determinants of farmland values in the Campine region (Belgium) using data on
individual sales transactions. Since the study area is well known to have a legacy of heavy-metal pollution of
land, one of the focal points is the implicit price of cadmium (Cd) pollution. We use a hedonic pricing model,
applying both mean regression (OLS) and quantile regression (QR). Unlike previous hedonic studies using QR,
we use unconditional QR (Firpo et al. 2009). The estimates obtained using UQR have a more intuitive
interpretation than those obtained using standard (conditional) QR, and allow for less ambiguous comparisons
with their OLS counterparts. We find only moderate evidence of price discounts in the middle (median) price
range due to Cd contamination. On the other hand, we find that farmland values are strongly affected by the
development potential of agricultural land due to urban pressure.