James A. Graaskamp, Richard T. Ely, and the Tradition of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics at the University of Wisconsin

Abstract

This chapter provides an historical perspective by placing the teaching and research of James A. Graaskamp at the University of Wisconsin in the context of the pioneering contributions of Richard T. Ely, Ernest M. Fisher, Frederick M. Babcock, Coleman Woodbury, Morton Bodfish, A. D. Theobald, Mary L. Shine, Arthur J. Mertzke, Horace F Clark, Helen C Monchow, Herbert B. Dorau, Harlean James, Albert G Hinman, William N. Loucks, Rosalind Tough, Homer Hoyt, Herbert D. Simpson, Frank B. Williams, John E. Burton, Gertrude Harley, Richard U Ratcliff Richard B. Andrews, and many others to the field of real estate and urban land economics since the 1890s at Madison and through the Institute for Research in Land Economics and Public Utilities. The chapter describes eight key areas where James Graaskamp, as an academic and a professional consultant, advanced the state of the art in the field of real estate and urban land economics: institutional approach, conceptual framework, social context, public policy orientation, market research and analysis, critique of appraisal theory and practice, interdisciplinary scholarship, and education for real estate development. The common thread from Ely to Graaskamp is the strong commitment to utilizing the framework of institutional economics to define, analyze, and solve practical real estate problems.