PIPE Workshop: Clayton Nall

Do Housing Supply Skeptics Learn? Evidence from Economics and Advocacy Treatments (with Chris Elmendorf and Stan Oklobdzija)

Recent research finds that although most people want lower housing prices, they do not believe that increasing housing supply would reduce prices, contrary to expert consensus. This study tests the effects of four informational interventions on Americans’ beliefs about housing markets, policy preferences, and political actions, measured by whether they write to state lawmakers. Several interventions significantly improved economic understanding and increased support for land-use liberalization, with standardized effect sizes of 0.15–0.30. The most impactful treatment—an educational video from an advocacy group—had effects two to three times larger than those of typical economics-information or political-messaging treatments. Learning about housing markets increased support for development among homeowners as much as among renters, challenging the “homevoter hypothesis.” Although the treatments did not significantly affect the likelihood of writing to lawmakers, an off-plan analysis suggests that the advocacy video increased the number of messages requesting more market-rate housing.