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VOXEU:
The economic effects of density: A synthesis

22 February 2019

Most countries pursue policies that implicitly or explicitly aim at promoting 'compact urban form', but so far these policies have not been well-grounded in evidence. This column summarises the state of knowledge on the economic effects of density on various economic outcomes. It concludes that densification policies may lead to aggregate welfare gains, but there may be regressive distributional consequences.

SERC/Urban and Spatial Programme Discussion Paper
The Economic Effects of Density: A Synthesis. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt and Elisabetta Pietrostefani. January 2017. Paper No' SERCDP0210

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