DF Lunch Seminar: Prof. Remi Jedwab on Global Economic Development and Land Savings

“The Skyscraper Revolution: Global Economic Development and Land Savings.”

With the Lunch Seminar series, the Department of Finance is bringing eminent and up-and-coming researchers from around the world to Luxembourg.

Abstract

Tall buildings make up over 20% of real estate by value in the world’s largest cities. Nonetheless, many governments constrain tall building construction, hindering urbanization and growth. Quantification for all cities worldwide using a canonical land use model disciplined with reduced form elasticity estimates indicates that eliminating existing height constraints would generate a global welfare gain of 6.4%. Aggregate land values would decline by 6.0%, incentivizing landowners to support height restrictions. Estimated elasticities of city population and built area with respect to aggregate city building heights are 0.13 and -0.16 in developing economies, reinforcing the quantitative evidence that tall buildings facilitate urban growth and compactness. Interactions between static demand factors and the geography of bedrock isolate 1975-2015 tall building construction driven by technology-induced reductions in the cost of height.

About the speaker

Remi Jedwab is a Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy and co-Director of the Local Sustainable Governance Lab at the George Washington University in Washington D.C.