2025/07/02 by Menglin Liu · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Housing Market and Economics #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/03003930.2025.2517102
openalex publication_date 2025/07/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Local opposition to high-density housing is a major contributor to the U.S. housing crisis, exacerbating challenges such as homelessness, food insecurity, and inequality. This study examines the role of direct democracy in shaping local land use policy across nearly 1,000 U.S. cities from 2006 to 2018. Using matching and difference-in-differences designs, it finds that cities adopting direct democracy are more likely to implement restrictive land use policies, favoring anti-growth interests. The effects are especially pronounced in lower-income cities, where the balance of power between homeowners and renters significantly shapes outcomes. In contrast, high-income cities exhibit consistently restrictive policies regardless of tenure dynamics. These results highlight how institutional design and local socioeconomic conditions jointly shape housing policy.