The established trend of increasing raw land values, combined with a forecast of this pattern to continue, is both reinforcing and perpetuating general opinions with respect to the causes of the unit price increase of raw land. Specifically, the stigma attached to the term "land speculation" is rapidly increasing. The existence of these circumstances makes it imperative to identify the motives initiating 'speculative activity' involving undeveloped land in order to either substantiate the basis

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... for the growing criticism of so-called "speculators" or disprove, with empirical evidence, the concepts on which the misconceptions of speculation and the resulting criticism are founded. Consequently, following a general discussion of existing attitudes toward land in North America and the presumed effects of land speculation, this study attempts to establish empirically to what extent speculation in undeveloped land exists in the City of Kamloops, its causes and actual effects on the unit price of raw land. The study incorporates in its framework an extensive review of existing related literature under the general heading of "Land Speculation - A General Discussion". The purpose of this section of the study (Chapter II) is to identify and summarize varied observations documented by several authors who have both supported and rejected basic misconceptions with respect to land speculators. In addition, Chapter II provides a useful basis for comparing the personal observations of reviewed authors with the subsequent actual results of the analysis. The primary objective of the study is to measure the changes in raw land values from 1949-1970 in the City of Kamloops, and to rationalize these changes in terms of market behaviour. The approach used in an effort to achieve this objective is a time series analysis to isolate the causes contributing to changes in raw land values and as a result recreate the market behaviour of raw land sales in the intertemporary period. The subject of the analy [...]