In the private sector, the profit and loss mechanism signals firms the need to adjust their production and costs quickly to changes in demand and revenue. In contrast, in the public sector, no such tool is available to adjust spending to changing conditions. Instead policy makers have incentives...

Throughout American history, cities have experienced rapid population growth during periods when they offered exceptionally well-paying jobs. But population growth in high-wage cities is only possible when people can find housing within a reasonable commuting distance. Unlike in the past,...

The federal government widely promoted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(ARRA), more commonly called the “stimulus package,” as a means to help states balance theirbudgets for the 2010 fiscal year amid decreasing tax revenues. The ARRA allocated $140 billion to help states' budgets...

In 2019, few could have predicted that state and local pension funds would be faced with a pandemic that would slash state and local tax revenues and harm investment returns. Nevertheless, fund managers should have spent the past decade preparing for an inevitable market downturn. Instead, just...

Over the past decade, housing supply restrictions across US cities have contributed to anemic housing construction and high prices in some of the most in-demand locations. In the best of times, these rules have burdened renters and homeowners with unaffordable housing costs. They have also...

Following the allocation of funds for a new line on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metrorail system, the Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County, Virginia, undertook redevelopment planning for its Tysons area. The redevelopment plan was the first of its kind. The board...

As regions across the United States are experiencing high and rising house prices, inclusionary zoning is increasing in popularity as a tool to increase the availability of affordable housing for households making less than their region's median income. However, when inclusionary zoning requires...

This paper builds on the existing literature on the relationship between walkability and house prices. We demonstrate a positive relationship between home prices and walkability using zip code–level data in the first nationwide study of walkability. We find that a one-point increase in Walk...

Local restrictions on new housing supply, including minimum lot-size requirements, single-family zoning, parking requirements, and historic preservation rules, all limit the supply of housing allowed within localities and drive up the cost of housing that is permitted. Federal policymakers have...