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IEA: Sadiq Khan wrong to push failed rent control agenda in London
Dr Kristian Niemietz, Head of Political Economy at the Institute of Economic Affairs, responded to Sadiq Khan’s claim the London mayoral election will be a referendum on rent controls
“Rent controls have never worked anywhere. They do not just fail to solve the problem they are intended to solve; they also create new ones of their own.
“This is one of the very few issues on which economists of all stripes – including stridently left-wing economists such as Paul Krugman – are in complete agreement. This is not a matter of neoliberal economics vs left-wing economics. It is a matter of economics vs Trump-style knee-jerk populism.
“If Sadiq Khan had any interest in solving London’s housing crisis, he would focus on the supply side. He could, for example, push for a review of Green Belt boundaries, and a relaxation of height and density restrictions.”
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For further reading on rent controls, click here and here.
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems and seeks to provide analysis in order to improve the public understanding of economics.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
