Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing (Paperback)
Why are house prices in many advanced economies rising faster than incomes? What is the relationship between the financial system and the price of land? In this accessible but provocative guide to the economics of land and housing, the authors reveal how many of the key challenges facing modern economies, including housing crises, financial instability, and growing inequalities, are intimately tied to the land economy.
Looking at the ways in which discussions of land have been routinely excluded from both housing policy and economic theory, Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing argues that in order to tackle these increasingly pressing issues a major re-thinking by both politicians and economists is required. This is the first comprehensive guide to the role of land in the economy, making this an essential reference for students, scholars, policymakers, activists, and NGOs working on land issues.
Looking at the ways in which discussions of land have been routinely excluded from both housing policy and economic theory, Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing argues that in order to tackle these increasingly pressing issues a major re-thinking by both politicians and economists is required. This is the first comprehensive guide to the role of land in the economy, making this an essential reference for students, scholars, policymakers, activists, and NGOs working on land issues.
Josh Ryan-Collins is senior economist at the New Economics Foundation, as well as a visiting research fellow at the University of Southampton Business School. TobyLloyd is head of housing development at Shelter, a charity that campaigns to end homelessness in the UK. LaurieMacfarlane is an economist at the New Economics Foundation.
“A lucid and convincing explanation of why a free-market approach to the land problem makes little sense; why the state needs to intervene; and of the wide range of policy options available. Economics is evolving and this crucial book is a key part of its transformation.”
— Danny Dorling, author of All That Is Solid: How the Great Housing Disaster Defines Our Times
“A lucid exposition of the dysfunctional British housing market.”
— Best Books of 2017
“This excellent book is both thorough and comprehensive. I am convinced that it will quickly become an important reference for the general public and for economists, and hopefully also for policymakers.”
— Michael Kumhof, Senior Research Advisor, Bank of England
— Michael Kumhof, Senior Research Advisor, Bank of England
“This is an admirable book. It provides a powerful critique of the UK’s failed policies towards land and housing and it sets out an ambitious but credible set of alternatives which merit serious debate. But it also offers a critique of the inadequate treatment of land and housing by mainstream economics that can travel far beyond the UK.”
— LSE Review of Books
“A calm, clear, seemingly fair review of the role of land in economic theory and economic reality, and how skyrocketing land values have in recent decades come to shape and perhaps misshape the global economy. At the end, when the authors get to recommendations, you may be taken aback by some of the things they have in mind. But that's all the more reason to read the book. . . . [I]t is the book that did the most to alter my perception of the world.”
— Must-Reads of 2017
“Land policy is the missing issue in any discussion on planning, development, and the property market. This book is therefore long overdue. It returns land to its central role in both economic theory and in built environment discourses.”
— Duncan Bowie, author of Radical Solutions to the Housing Supply Crisis
“Analyzes the subject with excellent clarity. Read it and you will understand the crucial underlying drivers of rising debt, increasing inequality, and financial crises.”
— Adair Turner, Chairman of the Institute of New Economic Thinking
“Lucid and convincing . . . Economics is evolving and this crucial book is a key part of its transformation.”
— Danny Dorling, author of All That Is Solid: How the Great Housing Disaster Defines Our Times
“This book takes a fresh and comprehensive look at the problems created by a failure to consider the role of land in the economy of the United Kingdom. It proposes a wide range of solutions that policymakers should consider.”
— Kate Barker, author of the Barker Review of UK Housing Supply
“A very welcome analysis.”
— Green House Think Tank
“Housing and land play a central role in modern economies, but most mainstream economic theory simply ignores land’s special character—with grave consequences for its ability to explain the real world. By contrast, this important book analyses the subject with excellent clarity. Read it and you will understand the crucial underlying drivers of rising debt, increasing inequality, and financial crises.”
— Adair Turner, chairman of the Institute of New Economic Thinking
“Takes a fresh and comprehensive look at the problems created by a failure to consider the role of land in the economy of the United Kingdom. It proposes a wide range of solutions which policymakers should consider.”
— Kate Barker, author of the Barker Review of UK Housing Supply
“A comprehensive survey of the role of land in the economy and its neglect in economics, as well as a profile of how ownership of this essential requirement for life has become unattainable for the majority of young Britons.”
— Steve Keen, author of Debunking Economics
“Long overdue. It returns land to its central role in both economic theory and in built environment discourses.”
— Duncan Bowie, author of Radical Solutions to the Housing Supply Crisis
“The most important book I read this year.”
— Best Books of 2017
— Danny Dorling, author of All That Is Solid: How the Great Housing Disaster Defines Our Times
“A lucid exposition of the dysfunctional British housing market.”
— Best Books of 2017
“This excellent book is both thorough and comprehensive. I am convinced that it will quickly become an important reference for the general public and for economists, and hopefully also for policymakers.”
— Michael Kumhof, Senior Research Advisor, Bank of England
“This excellent book on the economic role of land is both thorough and comprehensive. I am convinced that it will quickly become an important reference for the general public and for economists, and hopefully also for policymakers.”
— Michael Kumhof, Senior Research Advisor, Bank of England
“This is an admirable book. It provides a powerful critique of the UK’s failed policies towards land and housing and it sets out an ambitious but credible set of alternatives which merit serious debate. But it also offers a critique of the inadequate treatment of land and housing by mainstream economics that can travel far beyond the UK.”
— LSE Review of Books
“A calm, clear, seemingly fair review of the role of land in economic theory and economic reality, and how skyrocketing land values have in recent decades come to shape and perhaps misshape the global economy. At the end, when the authors get to recommendations, you may be taken aback by some of the things they have in mind. But that's all the more reason to read the book. . . . [I]t is the book that did the most to alter my perception of the world.”
— Must-Reads of 2017
“Land policy is the missing issue in any discussion on planning, development, and the property market. This book is therefore long overdue. It returns land to its central role in both economic theory and in built environment discourses.”
— Duncan Bowie, author of Radical Solutions to the Housing Supply Crisis
“Analyzes the subject with excellent clarity. Read it and you will understand the crucial underlying drivers of rising debt, increasing inequality, and financial crises.”
— Adair Turner, Chairman of the Institute of New Economic Thinking
“Lucid and convincing . . . Economics is evolving and this crucial book is a key part of its transformation.”
— Danny Dorling, author of All That Is Solid: How the Great Housing Disaster Defines Our Times
“This book takes a fresh and comprehensive look at the problems created by a failure to consider the role of land in the economy of the United Kingdom. It proposes a wide range of solutions that policymakers should consider.”
— Kate Barker, author of the Barker Review of UK Housing Supply
“A very welcome analysis.”
— Green House Think Tank
“Housing and land play a central role in modern economies, but most mainstream economic theory simply ignores land’s special character—with grave consequences for its ability to explain the real world. By contrast, this important book analyses the subject with excellent clarity. Read it and you will understand the crucial underlying drivers of rising debt, increasing inequality, and financial crises.”
— Adair Turner, chairman of the Institute of New Economic Thinking
“Takes a fresh and comprehensive look at the problems created by a failure to consider the role of land in the economy of the United Kingdom. It proposes a wide range of solutions which policymakers should consider.”
— Kate Barker, author of the Barker Review of UK Housing Supply
“A comprehensive survey of the role of land in the economy and its neglect in economics, as well as a profile of how ownership of this essential requirement for life has become unattainable for the majority of young Britons.”
— Steve Keen, author of Debunking Economics
“Long overdue. It returns land to its central role in both economic theory and in built environment discourses.”
— Duncan Bowie, author of Radical Solutions to the Housing Supply Crisis
“The most important book I read this year.”
— Best Books of 2017
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