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0 pointszahlman6d ago0 comments

> Please bear in mind when you discuss "rent control" in the USA you really do mean the version you see in your locale. The idea that rent control sui generis failed worldwide is (in my personal opinion) a stretch.

Can you cite a version of it that worked?

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ggm6d ago

From an economist? no. From rent activists? Sure. From The Mayor of London? He wants it. From economists in London? They don't want it. From rent activists in Berlin? It worked for their client pool. From economists in Germany? Mixed outcome.

The thing is, there is no neutral arbiter. The people who say it failed, are systems level reviewers with overal economic takes. The people (like me) who say it succeeded are looking at sub-cohorts of the housing economy who otherwise would be homeless.

Success is complicated.

zahlmanOP6d ago

I didn't say anything about who wants the policy in the future. I asked for an example where it achieved its stated objectives in the past.

> The thing is, there is no neutral arbiter.

There are, however, arbiters who pre-register metrics for success and then don't move the goalposts. That way people can at least see what you want and what you're willing to sacrifice.

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