Academic <> economist. I don’t have an answer, but the arguments in favor of rent control are based on fairness, not efficiency. The domain of academics to consult is, therefore, greater than “economists.”
Even for a fairness argument, it seems hard to justify the rent subsidy (the difference between market rent and controlled rents) coming out of the pockets of landlords, vs. the public treasury.
Sure. I’m not qualified to actually make the arguments, as I don’t have any background or history in the topic. But even those without specific domain knowledge can still throw a flag when we see a potential structural issue, like a one-sided framing of a question.
It’s an important point to remember, for this and other policy evaluations (labor unions come to mind), that it’s very rare to find a serious academic who will say “good” or “bad” in a vacuum. The questions are “how much” and “under what conditions”. In environments with long-established and slow-to-change property ownership, and a history of tenant maltreatment, interventions like rent control and eviction limits and enforced mediation before court are perhaps necessary to solve problems. In environments where it’s pretty easy to enter and exit the rental market, and tenants have a bit of power because empty units suck, probably less regulation keeps things moving.
And, of course, in the real world where government causes a shortage by preventing creation of housing, and it’s hard to become a landlord because of all the regulation, and as a result tenants are mistreated because there are many more of them than spots available, there is no good answer. Rent control is the wrong tool to address a supply problem.
From a Rawlsian “justice as fairness” perspective, it would be reasonable to cripple landlords profits, considering that they are wealthier, and therefore, this inequality would be “just” according to Rawls second justice principle. This reasoning would only be valid IF the landlord is wealthier than the person who rents.
I am interested in a consensus among academic economists, or in economic arguments for rent control. Specifically because I’m mostly interested in utilitarian reasoning, but I’d also be curious about what other disciplines have to say.
I think you’re right about ‘fairness’ being the (most common) central argument. I’d want a (good) economist to evaluate those other domains tho! And not (primarily) to quantify the argument as much as evaluate the relevant tradeoffs at all.
Academic <> economist. I don’t have an answer, but the arguments in favor of rent control are based on fairness, not efficiency. The domain of academics to consult is, therefore, greater than “economists.”
Even for a fairness argument, it seems hard to justify the rent subsidy (the difference between market rent and controlled rents) coming out of the pockets of landlords, vs. the public treasury.
Why pick on landlords?
Sure. I’m not qualified to actually make the arguments, as I don’t have any background or history in the topic. But even those without specific domain knowledge can still throw a flag when we see a potential structural issue, like a one-sided framing of a question.
It’s an important point to remember, for this and other policy evaluations (labor unions come to mind), that it’s very rare to find a serious academic who will say “good” or “bad” in a vacuum. The questions are “how much” and “under what conditions”. In environments with long-established and slow-to-change property ownership, and a history of tenant maltreatment, interventions like rent control and eviction limits and enforced mediation before court are perhaps necessary to solve problems. In environments where it’s pretty easy to enter and exit the rental market, and tenants have a bit of power because empty units suck, probably less regulation keeps things moving.
And, of course, in the real world where government causes a shortage by preventing creation of housing, and it’s hard to become a landlord because of all the regulation, and as a result tenants are mistreated because there are many more of them than spots available, there is no good answer. Rent control is the wrong tool to address a supply problem.
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From a Rawlsian “justice as fairness” perspective, it would be reasonable to cripple landlords profits, considering that they are wealthier, and therefore, this inequality would be “just” according to Rawls second justice principle. This reasoning would only be valid IF the landlord is wealthier than the person who rents.
That’s right, and a poor framing on my part 😊
I am interested in a consensus among academic economists, or in economic arguments for rent control. Specifically because I’m mostly interested in utilitarian reasoning, but I’d also be curious about what other disciplines have to say.
I think you’re right about ‘fairness’ being the (most common) central argument. I’d want a (good) economist to evaluate those other domains tho! And not (primarily) to quantify the argument as much as evaluate the relevant tradeoffs at all.