From Rationalitate - The WaPo finally realizes the root cause of the subprime crisisAgencies like FHA and HUD, and pseudo-private agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were the government's tool to manipulate the market for mortgages, and manipulate it they did: 40% of all mortgages are … [Read more...]
California’s Water Resources vs Development
There are some good articles out there this morning, I want to share them with you...Rationalitate - California developments halted over waterWhile the knee-jerk libertarian reaction might be disgust, I think the markets are probably ruined by the government, and current pricing isn't what … [Read more...]
Thank you Lynne Kiesling
Yesterday, Lynne Kiesling of Northwestern University encouraged readers of her popular economics blog, Knowledge Problem to visit Market Urbanism.The link generated the highest day of traffic to date. I hope visitors find Market Urbanism interesting and return often. Thank you for visiting … [Read more...]
Market Incentives to Conserve Resources
The economics blog, Knowledge Problem on how prices effect individuals incentive to conserve: Conservation of resources: Prices change everything Steven Stoft, at the EU Energy Policy Blog, observes that market driven conservation is a slow process:Conservation is the main way consumers respond … [Read more...]
Rent Control Part 4: Conclusion and Solutions
Welcome to the final post in the series discussing the consequences of rent control. Thank you to the subscribers who have patiently awaited each new post. I hope everyone found it enlightening. If you haven't read the entire series, you can catch up with these links: Rent Control Part One: … [Read more...]
Market Urbanism Debuts at #196 on Economics Blog Ranking
26econ.com keeps a ranking of top Economics Blogs, and Market Urbanism debuts at 196/255. Not bad for one month online..... Here is the announcement of new additions to the rankings: New Economics BlogsThanks to loyal readers. Hopefully, Market Urbanism will move up the rankings quickly. … [Read more...]
Video: Both Sides of Proposition 98
With the referendum approaching, the debate over rent control is heating up in California. This video is pretty balanced in showing both sides. There are some memorable quotes, like "social security and pension plan would not pay the market rent, so I just wouldn't eat." I guess this guy values … [Read more...]
Rent Control Part 3: Mobility, Regional Growth, Development and Class Conflict
Part One of this series was a refresher on the Microeconomics of Rent Control and touched on how it encourages hoarding Part Two discussed rent controls influence on the black market for apartments, rental property deterioration and housing discrimination. Here in Part Three, we will discuss how … [Read more...]