Published: 2006 | Edward L. Glaeser, Joseph Gyourko, Albert Saiz | National Bureau of Economic Research Abstract Like many other assets, housing prices are quite volatile relative to observable changes in fundamentals. If we are going to understand boom-bust housing…
Whiteness as Property
Published: 2006 | Cheryl I. Harris | UCLA School of Law Research Paper Abstract Issues regarding race and racial identity as well as questions pertaining to property rights and ownership have been prominent in much public discourse in the United…
Why is Manhattan So Expensive? Regulation and the Rise in Housing Prices
Published: 2005 | Raven Saks, Joseph Gyourko, and Edward Glaeser | The Journal of Law and Economics Abstract In Manhattan, housing prices have soared since the 1990s. Although rising incomes, lower interest rates, and other factors can explain the demand…
What are Private Governments Worth?
Published: 2005 | Amanda Agan and Alexander Tabarrok | George Mason University Abstract Homeowners associations (HOAs) and other local private governments are expanding in number both in the United States and around the world. Local private governments are also expanding…
Regulation and the High Cost of Housing in California
Published: 2005 | John Quigley and Steven Raphael | American Economic Association Abstract In this paper, we explore the linkages between land-use regulations, growth in the housing stock, and housing prices in California cities. First, we assess whether housing is…
Homeless in America, Homeless in California
Published: 2001 | John M. Quigley, Steven Raphael, and Eugene Smolensky| The Review of Economics and Statistics Abstract It is generally believed that the increased incidence of homelessness in the United States has arisen from broad societal factors, such as…
An Economic History of Zoning and a Cure for Its Exclusionary Effects
Published: 2001 | William A. Fischel | Urban Studies Abstract I outline the twentieth-century history of American zoning to explain how homeowners came to dominate its content and administration in most jurisdictions. Zoning’s original purpose was to protect homeowners in…
The Racial Origins of Zoning in American Cities
Published: 1997 | Christopher Silver Abstract This book chapter points out zoning’s early social function as a legal mechanism for separating immigrant and African American populations, serving to preserve property values or enforce racial segregation. It shows that the narrative…
Urban Land Developers and the Origins of Zoning Laws: The Case of Berkeley
Published: 1986 | Marc A. Weiss | Berkeley Planning Journal Abstract In the following paper I present an analysis of the origins of zoning laws and a case study of the beginning of zoning in Berkeley, California. The particular focus…
Housing Subsidies: Effects on Housing Decisions, Efficiency, and Equity
Published: 1985 | Harvey S. Rosen | Nation Bureau of Economic Research Abstract This paper surveys the effects of two of the most important federal policies toward housing: the “implicit subsidy” for owner-occupied housing in the income tax code, and…