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Colonial legacy and land market formality

Mariaflavia Harari & Maisy Wong

Journal of Urban Economics2025https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2025.103789article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.46

Abstract

We study the role of Dutch colonial institutions on urban development for the megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia. Using historical maps of Dutch settlements and a rich granular database, we implement a boundary discontinuity design comparing locations on either side of Dutch boundaries. We find that historical Dutch areas today have significantly lower parcel density, are more likely to have formally registered parcels, and have more regular parcel layout, pointing to the importance of planning and cadastral mapping. Dutch settlements are also more likely to appear formal, as per a photographic index that ranks the appearance of neighborhoods. We highlight the role of land market institutions over alternative channels, such as direct Dutch investments or natural advantage.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2025.103789

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@article{mariaflavia2025,
  title        = {{Colonial legacy and land market formality}},
  author       = {Mariaflavia Harari & Maisy Wong},
  journal      = {Journal of Urban Economics},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2025.103789},
}

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Colonial legacy and land market formality

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Evidence weight

0.46

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.37 × 0.4 = 0.15
M · momentum0.60 × 0.15 = 0.09
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.