Urban Economics
Cities are dynamic centers of exchange, innovation, and economic growth, providing the platform where people, ideas, and capital come together. However, the regulations that limit urban development reduce the potential for income mobility and rising standards of living over time. Mercatus research shows how land-use policy reform can reverse the stagnation in our cities and address the systemic problem of housing affordability.
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Latest Work in Urban Economics
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Your Neighborhood May Be Filled With Apartments One Day. And That’s Ok | The Arizona Republic
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Why We Need To Achieve Housing Abundance | Discourse
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Announcements Announcements
Acclaimed urbanist Alain Bertaud joins Mercatus Center’s Urbanity Project
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
State Policymakers' Role in Protecting the Right to Build Housing in Montana
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Housing Reform in Montana | KBUL-AM’s “Montana Talks”
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Light-Touch Density and New Hampshire’s Role in Zoning
New Hampshire House of Representatives, Municipal and County Government Committee
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Last Utopia: The 15-Minute City | Urban Reform Institute
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Housing Revolution Brewing in 2023 | The Hill
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Are the New Carbon Footprint Maps Accurate? | Market Urbanism
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Reassessing the Role of Supply and Demand on Housing Bubble Prices
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Understanding Tokyo's Land Use: The Power of Microspaces
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Forgotten Neighborhood | The Dispatch
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The Impact of Land Use Regulation on Racial Segregation: Evidence from Massachusetts Zoning Borders
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Single-Family Zoning and Race: Evidence from the Twin Cities
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
New Research Shows How Zoning Slows Racial Integration
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Improving Opportunities for Multifamily Housing in Virginia
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Zoning Reform Backfires | EconLib
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Regulations Are the Main Cause of Inadequate Housing Supply and Rising Rents in Texas
Texas Senate Committee on Local Government
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Rent Control is How the Rich Outbid Less-affluent People for Valuable Land | Market Urbanism
Latest Work in Urban Economics
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Your Neighborhood May Be Filled With Apartments One Day. And That’s Ok | The Arizona Republic
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Why We Need To Achieve Housing Abundance | Discourse
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Announcements Announcements
Acclaimed urbanist Alain Bertaud joins Mercatus Center’s Urbanity Project
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
State Policymakers' Role in Protecting the Right to Build Housing in Montana
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Housing Reform in Montana | KBUL-AM’s “Montana Talks”
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Light-Touch Density and New Hampshire’s Role in Zoning
New Hampshire House of Representatives, Municipal and County Government Committee
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Last Utopia: The 15-Minute City | Urban Reform Institute
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Housing Revolution Brewing in 2023 | The Hill
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Are the New Carbon Footprint Maps Accurate? | Market Urbanism
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Reassessing the Role of Supply and Demand on Housing Bubble Prices
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Understanding Tokyo's Land Use: The Power of Microspaces
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Forgotten Neighborhood | The Dispatch
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The Impact of Land Use Regulation on Racial Segregation: Evidence from Massachusetts Zoning Borders
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Single-Family Zoning and Race: Evidence from the Twin Cities
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
New Research Shows How Zoning Slows Racial Integration
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Improving Opportunities for Multifamily Housing in Virginia
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Zoning Reform Backfires | EconLib
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Regulations Are the Main Cause of Inadequate Housing Supply and Rising Rents in Texas
Texas Senate Committee on Local Government
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Rent Control is How the Rich Outbid Less-affluent People for Valuable Land | Market Urbanism
Latest Work in Urban Economics
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
California Can Improve Housing and Transit by Preempting Local Ordinances
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Inclusionary Zoning and Housing Market Outcomes
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Research Papers Research Papers
California Zoning: Housing Construction and a New Ranking of Local Land Use Regulation
Ranking California’s Cities on the Stringency of Land Use Regulation

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Development Dividends: Sharing Equity to Overcome Opposition to Housing
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Do Minimum-Lot-Size Regulations Limit Housing Supply in Texas?
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Link Between Local Zoning Policy and Housing Affordability in America’s Cities
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Housing Supply in the 2010s
- | Healthcare Healthcare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
POLICY SPOTLIGHT: Increasing Access to Quality, Lower-Cost Healthcare in Vermont
A Policy Recommendation
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
- | Books Books
Shut Out
How a Housing Shortage Caused the Great Recession and Crippled Our Economy

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Applying XBRL to US State and Local Government Audited Financial Reports
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Amazon HQ2 Is the Only Competition Where the Losers Are Winners
Why Economic Development Subsidies Hurt More than They Help
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Hemp in the United States
A Case Study of Regulatory Path Dependence
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Does Land Development Pay for Itself?
A Critique of Cost-of-Community-Service Studies
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The California Rule and Its Potential Abolition
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Research Papers Research Papers
State Fiscal Rankings | 2018 Edition
Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Prairie Prosperity: An Economic Guide for the State of North Dakota
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Effective Regulatory Reform
What the United States can Learn from British Columbia
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The New Jersey Pension Crisis
Flailing in Deep Waters
Latest Work in Urban Economics
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Eileen Norcross on WGMD (Delaware)
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
Eileen Norcross Discusses Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition on C-SPAN

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Eileen Norcross on WDAY
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Eileen Norcross on WVLK (Kentucky)
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Mercatus Original Video Mercatus Original Video
Webinar: Fiscal Rankings with Eileen Norcross
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Innovation Economy & State Fiscal Breakdown

- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Adam Millsap on CBS Connecticuts's Mornings with Ray (Connecticut)

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Mercatus Original Video Mercatus Original Video
Understanding Your State's Fiscal Health

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Mercatus Original Video Mercatus Original Video
The Wrath of CON | How Certificate-Of-Need Laws Affect Access to Health Care

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Eileen Norcross discusses New Jersey's Debt on WNYC

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Keith Hall Discusses Virginia's Unemployment on WRVA

- | F.A. Hayek Program F.A. Hayek Program
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Post-Disaster Recovery: An Institutional and Cultural Perspective on the Reconstruction of the Gulf Coast
Latest Work in Urban Economics
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Embracing Innovation in Micromobility Transportation
Testimony before the Maryland House Committee on Environment and Transportation
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Colorado Occupational Licensing: Barriers to Opportunity in the Centennial State
Testimony before the Colorado House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Creating the Opportunity for Contestable Advice
Testimony before the Oklahoma State Senate Committee on Rules
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Conditioning HUD Grants on Housing Market Outcomes Furthers Fair Housing
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
The Failure of Georgia’s Certificate-Of-Need Laws
Testimony before the Georgia House of Representatives Rural Development Council
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Zoning and Land Use Regulations Make Housing Less Affordable
Letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Advancing Evidence-Based Regulation in Colorado
Testimony before the Colorado House Business Affairs and Labor Committee
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Recommendations for Tax Reform in Pennsylvania
Testimony before the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
The Regulatory Landscape in West Virginia
Testimony before the West Virginia Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
The Regulatory Landscape in North Carolina
Testimony before the North Carolina Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Improving Legislative Oversight and Achieving Better Regulation in Pennsylvania
Testimony before the Pennsylvania House Committee on State Government

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
The Regulatory Landscape in Pennsylvania
Testimony before the Pennsylvania House Committee on State Government
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Recommendations for Tax Reform in Alaska
Testimony before Alaska Senate Labor and Commerce Committee
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Considerations for Improved Pension Solvency and Retirement Options in Maryland
Testimony before the Maryland House Appropriations Committee

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Testimony before the Alaska Senate State Affairs Committee
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Recommendations for Tax Reform in Nebraska
Testimony before the Nebraska Revenue Committee

- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Comments regarding Occupational Licensing in North Carolina
Testimony before the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee, Subcommittee on Occupational Licensing Board Oversight
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Fiscal Health Tax Climate and Best Practices for Budgeting
Testimony before the Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee and Senate State Government Committee
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Testimony on South Carolina's Certificate-of-Need Laws
Testimony before the South Carolina Health Planning Committee, Department of Health & Environmental Control
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comment for Actuarial Standards Board Hearing on Public Pension Issues
Latest Work in Urban Economics
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Light Touch Density: A Series of Policy Briefs on Zoning, Land Use, and a Solution to the Nation’s Housing Shortage
Published by the American Enterprise Institute

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How Cities Can Solve Their Office Crisis and Housing Affordability in One Go
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Reconciliation Bill’s “Zoning Reform” Provision Is Empty Spending

- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Cities Need a Building Boom To Avoid a Housing Bubble
We need to let housing construction be cyclical again and should embrace more lenient urban land use administration. Some cities are considering this now.
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How Policymakers Can Improve Housing Affordability
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Sprawl Made Los Angeles’ Pandemic Problem Worse, Not Better
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Bootlegger and Baptist Coalition to Restrict Urban Growth
Moralistic preservationists and environmentalists join hands with financially self-interested property owners.
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Has COVID led to “urban flight?”
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Townscaper: The Anti-SimCity
A new addition to the city-building game genre comes close to capturing how cities emerged for much of human history.
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How a Tysons Task Force Built a Road Map for Redevelopment
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
What’s a Stickplex?
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How Substantial Park Requirements May Challenge Walkability Goals in Tysons
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Want More Housing? Ending Single-Family Zoning Won’t Do It.
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Fairfax County found a way to upzone in Tysons with minimal roadblocks
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Ten years into redevelopment, is Tysons what we envisioned?
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Legal Challenge to the Big Apple's Newest Rent-Control Laws
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Here’s a snapshot of how the Silver Line has impacted the Metrorail system and Tysons commuters
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Tysons housing permits are ahead of plan, but walkability lags behind
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Automobiles Seeded the Massive Coronavirus Epidemic in New York City
- | Urban Economics Urban Economics
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary