Amidst debates about the “abundance agenda” and affordable housing policy, the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator is releasing a new academic paper, Post-Neoliberal Housing Policy, and a white paper, 28 Post-Neoliberal Housing Policy Ideas. The papers argue that focusing on zoning reforms is insufficient and that policymakers and housing policy advocates would be better off adopting a post-neoliberal, all-of-the-above approach to increasing housing supply.
“There are many problems in the housing market, not just zoning. And there are many solutions, not just de-zoning,” said Ganesh Sitaraman, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, Director of the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, and co-author of the papers.
Sitaraman and Christopher Serkin, also a professor at Vanderbilt Law School and co-author of the papers, show that housing supply shortages are not always a function of zoning rules, that zoning rules need not restrict supply but can also enhance it, and that eliminating zoning rules can create significant society problems – such as overbuilding in areas prone to extreme weather like fires and floods.
“We need an all-of-the-above approach to housing, one that focuses on all the ways we can make homebuilding easier and prices more affordable,” said Serkin. “Yes, zoning reform is one policy that will be important in some areas, but it’s not the only policy, and it isn’t going to be effective or desirable everywhere.”
An Industrial Policy for Housing
Public Options for Housing
Tax Policies
Market-Shaping Regulations
“We should not assume that if we just get rid of zoning rules and leave things to the market, then big developers, financiers, and landlords will ensure that society has affordable housing,” said Sitaraman. “The reality is that achieving society’s goals for more affordable housing means shaping the marketplace so private actors have both the ability and the incentive to create more housing and more affordable housing.”
The Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator for Political Economy and Regulation (VPA) focuses on cutting-edge topics in political economy and regulation to swiftly bring research, education, and policy proposals from infancy to maturity. To learn more about our work, visit vu.edu/vpa.
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