Matthew Yglesias comments on a study that found that you could cause a real drop in property values by moving a sex offender in:
Indeed, I sort of hope they do since my impression is that these sex offender databases should probably be done away with and screwing with people's real estate value seems like the most likely way to make that happen.
The other (and more likely) possibility, of course, is that this prompts homeowners to press for more draconian laws against sex offenders, to keep them from ever leaving prison or having the opportunity to purchase a home in their neighborhood. Which is to say, maybe this isn't a situation where we can appeal to people's self-interest, at least not in a positive way.
-- Jamelle Bouie
