IEA Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz has written for The Telegraph discussing new IEA research highlighting the economic consensus against rent controls.

Kristian wrote:

“Economics is not an exact science, which is why different studies on the same subject often come to radically different conclusions. Rent control, however, is not one of those subjects. At least when it comes to their main effects, the empirical evidence is remarkably consistent and conclusive.

“[Dr Konstantin] Kholodilin summarises his research in his new paper, Rent Control: Does it work?, published by the Institute of Economic Affairs. It is a comprehensive review of the economic literature on the subject, covering around 200 different studies from around the world and from a variety of angles. The earliest empirical studies he found are from the 1960s, the most recent ones are from this decade.

“It ultimately makes little difference. Whether we look at Glasgow in the 1960s, California in the 1980s or Berlin in the 2020s, whether we prefer this methodology or that one – the same broad findings show up again and again.

“…libertarian president Javier Milei has scrapped the second-generation rent controls brought in by his predecessor.

“Supply has since shot up and rents have come down. Thus, Milei achieved the very thing that Khan wants (namely, lower rents) but he did so by liberating market forces rather than using the force of the state to crush them.”

Read Kristian’s full piece here.

You can also read a full copy of Rent Control: Does it work?.