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Rent Control Rationing and Community Composition: Evidence from Massachusetts

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  • Sims David P

    (Brigham Young University)

Abstract

This paper investigates whether rent control affects community socioeconomic composition. In particular, do rent controls increase the presence of poor and minority residents in a locale? Theoretically, the effect of rent control on community composition is ambiguous, as it depends upon several factors including willingness to occupy controlled apartments, landlord imposed rationing mechanisms, and spillover effects of rent controlled housing on uncontrolled units. Using census data on how Cambridge, Massachusetts and nearby communities responded to the state imposed end of rent control, I find evidence that rent control increased the presence of minority residents but also decreased the proportion of poor residents. This evidence is robust to alternate control areas and several specification checks. I also find that despite its positive impact on minority membership, rent control is associated with an increase in traditional measures of residential segregation.

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  • Sims David P, 2011. "Rent Control Rationing and Community Composition: Evidence from Massachusetts," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-30, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:11:y:2011:i:1:n:27
    DOI: 10.2202/1935-1682.2613
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    2. Mathias Dolls & Clemens Fuest & Florian Neumeier & Daniel Stöhlker, 2021. "One Year of the Rent Cap: How Has the Berlin Real Estate Market Developed?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 74(03), pages 26-29, February.
    3. O’Toole, Conor & Martinez-Cillero, Maria & Ahrens, Achim, 2021. "Price regulation, inflation, and nominal rigidity in housing rents," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    4. Bofinger, Peter & Feld, Lars P. & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Schnabel, Isabel & Wieland, Volker, 2018. "Vor wichtigen wirtschaftspolitischen Weichenstellungen. Jahresgutachten 2018/19 [Setting the Right Course for Economic Policy. Annual Report 2018/19]," Annual Economic Reports / Jahresgutachten, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, volume 127, number 201819.
    5. Konstantin A. Kholodilin, 2022. "Rent Control Effects through the Lens of Empirical Research: An almost Complete Review of the Literature," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2026, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    6. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M. & Heblich, Stephan & Seidel, Tobias, 2023. "Micro-geographic property price and rent indices," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Weber, Jan Philip & Lee, Gabriel, . "On the Measure of Private Rental Market Regulation Index and its Effect on Housing Rents: Cross Country Evidence," Beiträge zur Immobilienwirtschaft, University of Regensburg, Department of Economics, number 21, August.
    8. Leah Platt Boustan & Robert A. Margo & Matthew M. Miller & James M. Reeves & Justin P. Steil, 2019. "Does Condominium Development Lead to Gentrification," Working Papers 2019-11, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    9. Mathias Dolls & Clemens Fuest & Carla Krolage & Florian Neumeier & Daniel Stöhlker, 2020. "Economic Effects of the “Berliner Mietendeckel”," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 73(03), pages 33-38, March.
    10. Chen, Ruoyu & Jiang, Hanchen & Quintero, Luis E., 2022. "Measuring the Value of Rent Stabilization and Understanding its Implications for Racial Inequality: Evidence from New York City," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1102, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Konstantin A. Kholodilin & Sebastian Kohl, 2021. "Rent Price Control – Yet Another Great Equalizer of Economic Inequalities?: Evidence from a Century of Historical Data," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1927, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    12. Baye, Vera & Dinger, Valeriya, 2022. "Investment Incentives of Rent Controls and Gentrification - Evidence from German Micro Data," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264120, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    13. Konstantin A. Kholodilin, 2022. "Rent Control Effects through the Lens of Empirical Research," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 139, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    14. Vera Baye & Valeriya Dinger, 2023. "Investment incentives of rent controls and gentrification – Evidence from German micro data," IEER Working Papers 122, Institute of Empirical Economic Research, Osnabrueck University.
    15. Boustan, Leah & Margo, Robert A. & Miller, Matthew M. & Reeves, James & Steil, Justin, 2023. "JUE Insight: Condominium development does not lead to gentrification," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    16. Breidenbach, Philipp & Eilers, Lea & Fries, Jan, 2022. "Temporal dynamics of rent regulations – The case of the German rent control," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

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