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Development incentives: Who do I have to bribe? | The Economist

YESTERDAY, I argued that it should be much easier for developers to build on city land as they see fit, but that the structure of local government institutions typically places strict constraints on what can actually be done with a piece of land. The problem is that government structures empower those who face negative impacts from new building relative to those who receive benefits from new... moreYESTERDAY, I argued that it should be much easier for developers to build on city land as they see fit, but that the structure of local government institutions typically places strict constraints on what can actually be done with a piece of land. The problem is that government structures empower those who face negative impacts from new building relative to those who receive benefits from new building. Kevin Drum follows up on the post by noting that there should be a Coasean solution to the problem—winners should be willing to pay the losers to be able to build, such that everyone is happy—but it's difficult to see how to get there: view page