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The Production Function for Housing: Evidence from France

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  • Combes, Pierre-Philippe
  • Duranton, Gilles
  • Gobillon, Laurent

Abstract

We propose a new non-parametric approach to estimate the production function for housing. Our estimation treats output as a latent variable and relies on the first-order condition for profit maximisation with respect to non-land inputs by competitive house builders. For parcels of a given size, we compute housing by summing across the marginal products of non-land inputs. Differences in non-land inputs are caused by differences in land prices that reflect differences in the demand for housing across locations. We implement our methodology on newly-built single-family homes in France. We find that the production function for housing is reasonably well, though not perfectly, approximated by a Cobb-Douglas function and close to constant returns. After correcting for differences in user costs between land and non-land inputs and taking care of some estimation concerns, we estimate an elasticity of housing production with respect to non-land inputs of about 0.80.

Suggested Citation

  • Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Duranton, Gilles & Gobillon, Laurent, 2016. "The Production Function for Housing: Evidence from France," CEPR Discussion Papers 11669, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11669
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Housing; Production function;

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • R32 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Other Spatial Production and Pricing Analysis

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