Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing
Josh Ryan-Collins, Toby Lloyd and Laurie Macfarlane
Having read it
★★★★☆
A compact and well-researched book that makes some very valid points to improving how housing and land fits into the economy. However, it’s a bit of shame nothing seems to be done about improving all these things for the long-term.
A good passage
As Joseph Stiglitz has put it, rent-seeking involves directing effort ‘toward getting a larger share of the pie rather than increasing the size of the pie’ (Stiglitz and Bilmes, 2012).
A second good passage
In recent years an increasing amount of research has sought to explore the relationship between economic inequality and health and social problems. Wilkinson and Pickett (2010) find a significant correlation between income inequality and many different factors of health and social malaise among twenty-three developed countries and among US states.6 They conclude that inequality and social stratification lead to higher levels of psychosocial stress and status anxiety, which in turn can lead to depression, dependency, less community life, parenting problems and stress-related diseases. These negative impacts do not just accrue to those on low incomes, they show that inequality has negative consequences for everyone.
A third good passage
Land is an inherently scarce but vital resource upon which all economic activity is dependent. Until we properly recognise this simple fact and everything that follows from it we will never create a fairer, more efficient and more sustainable economy.