Mamdani is ignoring 40 centuries of economic lessons
Recently, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a citywide freeze on rents. The response from economists can be summarized as “oy.” Economists are famous for arguing “on one hand” this and “on the other hand” that. This is why President Truman famously wanted to hire a one-handed economist. Nonetheless, there are few issues that enjoy a broader consensus among economists than the conclusion that rent control is counterproductive. Surveys of leading economists going back nearly four decades confirm this. A 1990 poll of 464 economists found that 93% of American ...