Why Do NIMBYs Win? Local Control and Housing Supply. Mast, E.
abstract   bibtex   
Housing production has not kept pace with demand. A contributing factor may be that towns and neighborhood groups with NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) preferences hold construction below the regional optimum using locally controlled land-use regulation and development approvals. I study a reform that sharply increases local control within towns—changing from “at-large” to “ward” elections for town council. This shifts each councilperson’s constituency from the entire town to one ward. Difference-in-differences estimates show this decentralization decreases housing units permitted by 24%, with 40% and 14% effects on multi- and single-family units. This supports concerns that local control and NIMBYism depress housing production.
@article{mast_why_nodate,
	title = {Why {Do} {NIMBYs} {Win}? {Local} {Control} and {Housing} {Supply}},
	abstract = {Housing production has not kept pace with demand. A contributing factor may be that towns and neighborhood groups with NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) preferences hold construction below the regional optimum using locally controlled land-use regulation and development approvals. I study a reform that sharply increases local control within towns—changing from “at-large” to “ward” elections for town council. This shifts each councilperson’s constituency from the entire town to one ward. Difference-in-differences estimates show this decentralization decreases housing units permitted by 24\%, with 40\% and 14\% effects on multi- and single-family units. This supports concerns that local control and NIMBYism depress housing production.},
	language = {en},
	author = {Mast, Evan},
	pages = {35},
}

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