THE EC AND REAL-ESTATE RENTS IN BRUSSELS

Real estate prices in Brussels started to increase at a very rapid rat e in 1987-1988. This happened a few years before the European Communit y had to decide whether the Commission would remain in Brussels, and w hether the European Parliament would be moved to Brussels. The main pu rpose of the paper is to analyze whether the European Community influe nced real estate rents in Brussels during the period 1980-1992, and wh ether this influence has increased over time. We find evidence of a si gnificant rent increase due to the EC after 1988. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.