Working Paper: NBER ID: w22658
Authors: Allison Shertzer; Tate Twinam; Randall P. Walsh
Abstract: Comprehensive zoning is ubiquitous in U.S. cities, yet we know surprisingly little about its long-run impacts. We provide the first attempt to measure the causal effect of land use regulation over the long term, using as our setting Chicago’s first (1923) comprehensive zoning ordinance. Our results indicate that zoning has had a broader and more significant impact on the spatial distribution of economic activity than was previously believed. In particular, zoning may be more important than either geography or transportation networks – the workhorses of urban economic geography models – in explaining where commercial and industrial activity are located.
Keywords: Zoning; Urban Economics; Land Use Regulation; Economic Activity
JEL Codes: H7; N42; R3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Zoning (R52) | Spatial distribution of economic activity (R12) |
| One standard deviation increase in the percentage of manufacturing zoning (R38) | Likelihood of a block hosting manufacturing activity (R38) |
| Commercial zoning (R33) | Likelihood of commercial use (R33) |
| Zoning (R52) | Mixing of residential and industrial uses (R38) |
| Single-family residential zoning (R38) | Home values (R31) |