Costs

When Wages Prevail: Assessing the Cost of Construction

In California, legislation to streamline housing production and to fund the construction of deed-restricted affordable housing often requires builders to pay “prevailing wages” to the construction workers who work on the resulting project. These requirements are based on the idea…

From Copenhagen to Tokyo

Published: 2020 | Sarah Karlinsky, Paul Peninger, Cristian Bevington | SPUR Abstract The selected case studies demonstrate a breadth of approaches that address both supply and demand challenges for housing in its entirety, as well as affordable housing more specifically.…

Inclusionary Zoning Hurts More Than It Helps

Published: 2019 | Emily Hamilton | Mercatus Institute Abstract Inclusionary zoning is popular among policymakers for two reasons. First, it appears “free.” It produces affordable housing units without an outlay of tax dollars. Second, it allows policymakers to appear as…

The Economic Implications of Housing Supply

Published: 2018 | Edward Glaeser, Joseph Gyourko | The Journal of Economic Prespectives Abstract In this essay, we review the basic economics of housing supply and the functioning of US housing markets to better understand the distribution of home prices,…