Net Buyers, Net Sellers, and Agricultural Landowner Support for Agricultural Zoning

Agricultural zoning and land-use restrictions are long-standing approaches for controlling non-agricultural development. We provide a theoretical explanation for variation in agricultural landowner support for zoning based on landowners’ positions—whether a landowner is a buyer or a seller—in the land market. Hypotheses derived from the model are tested using data from a survey of agricultural landowners in Kent County, Michigan. The empirical findings are consistent with our hypothesis that net buyers and net sellers of agricultural land will differ in their support for agricultural zoning. (JEL Q15)