walkableprinceton

Left, Nobel Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman. Right, Jason Furman, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. (click to expand)

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman is worried about rising inequality, and he knows what’s to blame. Writing in his NY Times column earlier this month, he criticized restrictions on land use that drive up housing costs near job centers. Krugman – a former professor at Princeton University – has written about this before, but now Jason Furman, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers has added a forceful case against restrictive zoning, saying it correlates with inequality, and adding “the president [Barack Obama] is personally concerned”. Both Krugman and Furman are on the liberal side of the debate, but there is now a bipartisan consensus among economists that restrictive land use regulations hinder social mobility and contribute to inequality. So why is Princeton still pushing through new restrictions on land use? Continue reading →