Getting the Most from a Principles Discussion of Rent Control

The usual textbook discussion of rent control does not go beyond discussing first-generation controls in the context of perfect competition. Such a discussion is open to the charge of being biassed in favour of the free market solution. This paper suggests a way to extend our discussion by assigning a reading and a problem. We suggest assigning one of Arnott's two survey papers as a reading upon which could be based a series of discussion questions. The problem is designed to highlight the importance of the legal structure within which markets operate, and the difficulties caused by heterogeneity. The crux of the problem is the effect of quot;excessivequot; eviction protection legislation. This gives rise to an quot;efficiency-rentquot; model where excess demand is the market response