Seminario titulado: "Do Rent Controls Shift Housing Supply toward Short-Term Tourism Rentals?". El seminario será el VIERNES 13 de diciembre a las 11:30hs, en la sala Dr. Ernest LLuch (Dpto de Economía)
Abstract:
This paper evaluates the market reallocation effects of rent controls on the supply of Airbnb rentals. We exploit the passing of a second-generation rent control (price cap) on the long-term rental market in some municipalities in Catalonia (Spain) in August 2020 as a quasi-natural experiment. We use a difference-in-differences research design that compares the evolution of Airbnb supply in treated municipalities before and after the rent control with that of comparable municipalities in the Community of Valencia not affected by the policy. Our results show a positive increase in Airbnb supply in rent-controlled municipalities in the months following the policy implementation. We find significant changes in the composition of short-term rental supply and a decline in Airbnb prices, suggesting that the policy subsidized tourism demand. Our findings provide relevant implications for policymakers regarding the (un)intended consequences of rent controls on switching patterns between the long-term and the short-term rental market.
