Local regulations can hurt the national economy. A 2019 paper found that if New York, San Jose, and San Francisco relaxed their housing regulations to the level of the median American city, the national economy would be 3 to 9 percent bigger.
But it turns out the paper included a mathematical mistake. The national economy would be 14 to 36 percent bigger when it’s corrected. That’s a gigantic result, suggesting that more research is needed — and action too.