Research Updates

Below are three recent publications from the Department of Real Estate & Planning at Henley Business School, University of Reading. 

Gavin Parker et al - Neighbourhood planning in England: A decade of institutional learning
Progress in Planning - Article link

Key finding
This paper discusses what has been learned about how neighbourhood planning has been enacted and shaped reflexively by institutional actors in more than a decade of implementation.

Abstract
Drawing on a mix of policy learning and new institutionalist theory, the paper sets out the empirical evidence regarding the unfolding of neighbourhood planning (NP) in England during more than ten years of participatory practice. What has been learned about how this policy has been shaped reflexively by institutional actors is reviewed, drawing on two significant national research studies. The contribution of the paper is to provide a detailed consideration of neighbourhood planning as practiced over a decade and the policy iterations that have featured in that time, including what this tells us conceptually. We conclude this process has produced a range of neighbourhood planning forms that are reflected through the interplay of institutionalised agency, local conditions, policy iterations and varied community-local scale dynamics.

Ziyou Wang et al - Can land transfer relax credit constraints? Evidence from China
Economic Modelling, Vol. 122 - Article link

Key finding
Households that engage in land transfer are less likely to be credit constrained, the effect of land transfer in is more pronounced than that of land transfer out, land transfer improves access to credit through income and collateral mechanisms, and promoting the efficiency of land transfer can mitigate credit rationing.

Abstract
Although many studies have examined what drives credit constraints and their negative impact, evidence on the mechanism of relaxing credit constraints is scarce. This paper explores effective solutions to help households improve their access to credit. Using the China Family Panel Studies data from 2018, we employ an endogenous switching probit model to examine whether and to what extent land transfer can ease credit constraints. We find that households that transfer their land in or out are, respectively, 31.4% or 21.4% less credit constrained than those that do not. Participation in land transfers can improve borrowers’ financial situations through income increases and pledging assets as collateral, alleviating both formal and informal credit constraints. Our results suggest that any government initiatives to promote the efficiency of land transfer to ease credit constraints can help boost economic growth in China.

Gavin Parker et al - Underrepresented neighbourhood plan areas in Middlesbrough
Report: Kingfisher Commons, Peterborough - Article link

Key finding
This report examines six cases in Middlesbrough where communities had either taken up NP or had chosen not too, as well as the respective barriers & opportunities in each instance.

Abstract
The research explored factors inhibiting take-up of neighbourhood planning in the administrative area of Middlesbrough. It is already known that the take-up of Neighbourhood Planning (NP) in England has been skewed towards more rural and parished areas. The research reported here explored barriers and issues constraining neighbourhoods from participation in Middlesbrough. The research looked at six cases in Middlesbrough where communities had embarked on NP and others where this tool had not been taken-up. The work also involved focus group discussions about barriers and opportunities and reflects on ways forward in the light of both wider existing knowledge about neighbourhood planning dynamics and the evidence collected from Middlesbrough.