ABSTRACT
In the face of rapid regional population growth, many localities in the US have turned to growth controls in an attempt to divert unwanted extra residents to other communities. The evidence to date conclusively establishes that growth controls raise housing prices in communities where they are imposed. Since population pressure may be an important factor in actuality, the analysis concludes by sketching a closed-city model of growth controls. In standard fashion, the city is assumed to be radially symmetric, with all employment located at the Central Business District. The foregoing analysis suggests that in an empirical context where the open-city model is accurate, measurement of the change in total land value is a proper way of gauging the efficiency of a growth-control law. Identification of gainers and losers among landlords is easy in the closed-city model since these groups correspond exactly to the owners of developed and undeveloped land.
