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Housing supply elasticity and growth: evidence from Italian cities

Author

Listed:
  • Antonio Accetturo

    (Banca d'Italia)

  • Andrea Lamorgese

    (Banca d'Italia)

  • Sauro Mocetti

    (Banca d'Italia)

  • Dario Pellegrino

    (Banca d'Italia)

Abstract

The paper examines the impact of housing supply elasticity on urban development. Using data for a sample of around one hundred Italian main cities observed over 40 years, we first estimate housing supply elasticities at the city level. Second, we show that differences in the elasticity of housing supply may determine the extent to which a demand shock translates into more intense employment growth or more expensive houses. To address endogeneity of housing supply elasticity, we exploit a synthetic measure of physical constraints to residential development as an instrumental variable. We find that an exogenous increase in labour demand determines a rise in employment and housing prices; however, in cities with a less elastic housing supply the impact on economic growth is significantly lessened while the effects on house prices are greater.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Accetturo & Andrea Lamorgese & Sauro Mocetti & Dario Pellegrino, 2020. "Housing supply elasticity and growth: evidence from Italian cities," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1267, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1267_20
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Boeri, Filippo & Di Cataldo, Marco & Pietrostefani, Elisabetta, 2022. "Localised effects of re-allocated real estate mafia assets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 116682, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Loschiavo, David, 2021. "Big-city life (dis)satisfaction? The effect of urban living on subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 740-764.
    4. Pierluigi Bologna & Wanda Cornacchia & Maddalena Galardo, 2020. "Prudential policies, credit supply and house prices: evidence from Italy," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1294, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Antonio Accetturo & Sauro Mocetti, 2019. "Historical Origins and Developments of Italian Cities," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 5(2), pages 205-222, July.
    6. Elisabetta Manzoli & Sauro Mocetti, 2019. "The House Price Gradient: Evidence from Italian Cities," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 5(2), pages 281-305, July.
    7. Raffaello Bronzini & Emanuele Ciani & Francesco Montaruli, 2022. "Tourism and local growth in Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1), pages 140-154, January.
    8. Giuseppe Albanese & Guglielmo Barone & Guido DeBlasio, 2021. "The impact of place-based policies on income distribution," Discussion Paper series in Regional Science & Economic Geography 2021-04, Gran Sasso Science Institute, Social Sciences, revised Mar 2021.
    9. Reichle, Philipp & Fidrmuc, Jarko & Reck, Fabian, 2023. "The sharing economy and housing markets in selected European cities," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    10. Luca Casolaro & Cristina Fabrizi, 2018. "House prices in local markets in Italy: dynamics, levels and the role of urban agglomerations," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 456, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    11. Dalmazzo, Alberto & de Blasio, Guido & Poy, Samuele, 2022. "Can Public Housing Trigger Industrialization?," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    12. Bologna, Pierluigi & Cornacchia, Wanda & Galardo, Maddalena, 2022. "Release of a liquidity regulation: What do we learn for credit and house prices?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    housing supply elasticity; city growth; house prices; physical constraints;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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