Chapter 7

1. Private takings involve government seizures of private property for purposes of economic redevelopment rather than for provision of a public good. Courts have nevertheless generally granted cities the power to use eminent domain in this way given the spillover benefits from redevelopment of a blighted urban area. Review the key cases in this area and assess the economic logic of the various rulings.

2. Evaluate the following assertion: “The eminent domain clause of the Fifth Amendment is really about fairness rather than efficiency.”

3. Economic theory views property as a bundle of rights rather than as a single entity. It would therefore seem to follow that any government regulation of property should be viewed as a “partial taking.” Courts have nevertheless generally been reluctant to label such regulations as compensable takings under the eminent domain clause. Is this a supportable position from an economic perspective?