BBB in the NYT

*Build, Baby, Build* minus illustrations plus snazzy graphs

I pitch Build, Baby, Build in today’s New York Times. No illustrations, but a bunch of cool graphs cooked up by Sara Chodosh of the NYT data analytics team. The original title was “The Panacea Policy,” but now it’s “Yes in My Backyard: The Case For Housing Deregulation.” And for you, dear readers, it’s ungated!

My opening:

I would be the first to argue that if an economist claims to know of a cure-all policy — a reliable way to relieve a long list of social ills in one fell swoop — common sense tells you to stop listening.

So it is awkward for me to declare that I know of something close to a panacea policy: one big reform that would raise living standards, reduce wealth inequality, increase productivity, raise social mobility, help struggling men without college degrees, clean the planet and raise birthrates. It’s a sweeping reform that Democrats and Republicans, progressives and conservatives, could all proudly support.

The panacea policy I have in mind is housing deregulation.

Please share far and wide. And if anyone asks, the book is definitely better! ;-)