Emily Hamilton

I was first introduced to Jane Jacobs while working as an intern in the Planning Department of my hometown in Colorado. Her work enlightened me to the power of market forces to benefit all city dwellers without government intervention. Since then, I have become fascinated by the urban emergent order that creates our cities.

I graduated with a Masters in economics from George Mason University in 2010 after finishing my undergraduate degree at Goucher College in 2008. While at GMU, I worked as a Research Associate at the university’s Mercatus Center. After a brief time working elsewhere, I returned to the Mercatus Center to write for Neighborhood Effects about state and local policy issues.

Contact me at [email protected]

Setting the right transit safety standards

June 24, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

Two years ago, two trains on Metro's red line collided killing nine people in DC. In response to this tragic accident, Metro is spending $1 billion to improve the system's safety. WMATA's interim General Manager told the Washington Post: “The system is absolutely safer than it was a year ago,” said … [Read more...]

Rent Control: Trying to Make a Bad Policy Worse in NYC

June 17, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

In New York, lawmakers are currently debating a compromise between New York City and upstate interests to change the policies that shape residents' housing costs. New York City lawmakers are fighting for an extension and expansion of current rent control laws, while Governor Cuomo wants to tie this … [Read more...]

The Price of Parking in India

June 13, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

In Triumph of the City, Ed Glaeser offers a very insightful analysis of density restriction in India, home of some of the fastest growing cities in the world. He explains that while land use regulations are detrimental to economic growth in the United States, the consequences are much greater in … [Read more...]

Irrational, or responsive to incentives?

June 4, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

In the Washington Post Brad Plumer editorializes on the choice of many Americans to accept longer commutes by car in exchange for larger homes far from their workplaces. He says that consumers are unable to accurately calculate the cost of their commutes, including time spent driving, leading them … [Read more...]

More fuel for the transit policy fire

May 31, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

Controversy over the construction of high speed rail in California provides a glaring example of the rigidity inherent in using infrastructure projects as economic stimulus. A state study suggests that the Central Valley is not the most efficient location to begin the project's construction, and … [Read more...]

Clear case of the damages inherent in policy uncertainty

May 19, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

Current policy evolution in Los Gatos, CA demonstrates the power that urban planners have to alter property rights. The Silicon Valley municipality is currently debating whether or not to upzone a parcel where a developer would like to build 550,000 square feet of office space, replacing 250,000 … [Read more...]

A fresh rejection of commerce from Metro

May 11, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

Stephen has previously written on DC Metro's potential to make money by leasing its valuable real estate to vendors, but Metro officials have now further entrenched the organization against making efficient use of its property. WMATA denied a weekend farmers market use of the parking lot at the … [Read more...]