117 lines
3.8 KiB
YAML
117 lines
3.8 KiB
YAML
abstract: 'America has become a nation of homebodies. Rates of interstate mobility,
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by most estimates, have been falling for decades. Interstate mobility
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rates are particularly low and stagnant among disadvantaged groups
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despite a growing connection between mobility and economic opportunity.
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Perhaps most importantly, mobility is declining in regions where it is
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needed most. Americans are not leaving places hit by economic crises,
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resulting in unemployment rates and low wages that linger in these areas
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for decades. And people are not moving to rich regions where the highest
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wages are available.
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This Article advances two central claims. First, declining interstate
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mobility rates create problems for federal macroeconomic policymaking.
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Low rates of interstate mobility make it harder for the Federal Reserve
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to meet both sides of its ``dual mandate{''''}: ensuring both stable
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prices and maximum employment. Low interstate mobility rates also impair
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the efficacy and affordability of federal safety net programs that rely
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on state and local participation, and reduce wealth and growth by
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inhibiting agglomeration economies. While determining an optimal rate of
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interstate mobility is difficult, policies that unnaturally inhibit
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interstate moves worsen national economic problems.
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Second, the Article argues that governments, mostly at the state and
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local levels, have created a huge number of legal barriers to interstate
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mobility. Land-use laws and occupational licensing regimes limit entry
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into local and state labor markets. Different eligibility standards for
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public benefits, public employee pension policies, homeownership
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subsidies, state and local tax regimes, and even basic property law
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rules inhibit exit from low-opportunity states and cities. Furthermore,
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building codes, mobile home bans, federal location-based subsidies,
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legal constraints on knocking down houses, and the problematic structure
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of Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy all limit the capacity of failing
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cities to ``shrink{''''} gracefully, directly reducing exit among some
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populations and increasing the economic and social costs of entry limits
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elsewhere.
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Combining these two insights, the Article shows that big questions of
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macroeconomic policy and performance turn on the content of state and
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local policies usually analyzed using microeconomic tools. Many of the
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legal barriers to interstate mobility emerged or became stricter during
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the period in which interstate mobility declined. While causation is
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difficult to determine, public policies developed by state and local
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governments more interested in guaranteeing local population stability
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than ensuring successful macroeconomic conditions either generated or
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failed to stymie falling mobility rates. The Article concludes by
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suggesting how the federal government could address stagnation in
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interstate mobility.'
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affiliation: 'Schleicher, D (Corresponding Author), Yale Law Sch, Law, New Haven,
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CT 06520 USA.
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Schleicher, David, Yale Law Sch, Law, New Haven, CT 06520 USA.'
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author: Schleicher, David
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author_list:
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- family: Schleicher
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given: David
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da: '2023-09-28'
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eissn: 1939-8611
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files: []
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issn: 0044-0094
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journal: YALE LAW JOURNAL
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keywords-plus: 'IMPORT COMPETITION; HOUSING CHOICE; MOBILITY; MARKET; STATE;
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OPPORTUNITY; DECLINE; CITIES; CITY; SEGREGATION'
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language: English
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month: OCT
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number: '1'
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number-of-cited-references: '301'
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pages: 78-154
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papis_id: 31a9f6222679396fa723068177f0df4c
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ref: Schleicher2017stucklaw
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times-cited: '59'
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title: Stuck! The Law and Economics of Residential Stagnation
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type: article
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unique-id: WOS:000414381000002
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usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
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usage-count-since-2013: '9'
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volume: '127'
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web-of-science-categories: Law
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year: '2017'
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