Zoning and the Cost of Housing

Over the years numerous studies have looked at the impact that zoning and other land use controls have on the cost of housing. One of the most recent was published in 2002 by Edward Glaeser of Harvard University and Joseph Gyourko of the University of Pennsylvania.

Like most previous studies, they found that zoning and other land use restrictions contribute significantly to the cost of housing. The authors concluded:

The bulk of the evidence that we have marshaled suggests that zoning and other land-use controls are more responsible for high prices where we see them… Measures of zoning strictness are highly correlated with high prices. While all of our evidence is suggestive, not definitive, it seems to suggest that land-use regulation is responsible for high housing costs where they exist.

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