How growth-control zoning stalled construction productivity

To what extent is anti-growth zoning really a different problem from stagnant construction sector productivity? An NBER working paper sheds some light on the question. The construction productivity growth collapse after 1970 coincides with the postwar growth control movement that downzoned America’s cities, and the average share of homes built in large-scale projects has fallen by over a third. Growth control regulations directly limit the scale of individual residential projects, literally limiting economies of scale–but also indirectly create barriers to entry for builders between cities.