Regulation and the Rise in Housing Prices in Greater Boston
January 5, 2006
Edward L. Glaeser (Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University,) Jenny Schuetz (Doctoral Student, Harvard Kennedy School), and Bryce Ward (Doctoral Student, Harvard University)
This paper is part of the Initiative on Local Housing Regulation, a joint effort of the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research and Harvard Universityʼs Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston. As part of this initiative, researchers at the Pioneer Institute and the Rappaport Institute have assembled and coded a database on zoning codes, subdivision requirements, and environmental regulations that as of 2004 governed land use in 187 communities in eastern and central Massachusetts. The searchable database is available here. The site also houses summary reports, analyses of the data, and a downloadable version of the database in formats that can be used for econometric analyses.