EXTRA: Why Rent Control Doesn’t Work (Update)
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A new proposal from the Biden administration calls for a nationwide cap on rent increases. Economists think that’s a terrible idea. We revisit a 2019 episode to hear why.

• SOURCES:

• Tommy Andersson), professor of economics at Lund University.

• Vicki Been), professor of law at New York University and former deputy mayor for housing and economic development in New York City.

• Rebecca Diamond), professor of economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

• David Eisenbach), history lecturer at the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University.

• Ed Glaeser), professor of economics at Harvard University.

• RESOURCES:

• "The State of the Nation's Housing 2024)," by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2024).

• “The Effects of Rent Control Expansion on Tenants, Landlords, and Inequality: Evidence from San Francisco),” by Rebecca Diamond, Tim McQuade, and Franklin Qian (American Economic Review, 2019).

• “Housing Market Spillovers: Evidence from the End of Rent Control in Cambridge, Massachusetts),” by David H. Autor, Christopher J. Palmer, and Parang A. Pathak (Journal of Political Economy, 2014).

• “An Econometric Analysis of Rent Control),” by Edgar O. Olsen (Journal of Political Economy, 1972).

• Roofs or Ceilings?: The Current Housing Problem), by Milton Friedman and George J. Stigler (1946).