Transportation noise, property rights, and institutional structure: The Israeli experience in perspective

Noise is an important externality of transportation systems in most countries in the modern world. Yet, there is a dearth of studies questioning the institutional structure and prevailing regulatory approach to transportation noise. An analysis of the Israeli situation identifies encroachment of residential areas on transportation facilities as a major source of noise-related conflicts. A noise rights approach is suggested to address this problem, and applied to the Israeli case, based on the existing institutional structure there. The applicability of the noise rights approach to other contexts and to air and rail transportation is also discussed.