Global Housing Affordability: Zoning, Informality, and the Cost of Regulation with Salim Furth. EP 9

In this episode of Beating Sisyphus, hosts Thomas Riveros and Lourdes Casanova welcome Salim Furth Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.Together, they explore the economic foundations of housing markets, comparing the rigid zoning laws of the United States with the sprawling informality of emerging markets like Nigeria and India. Salim explains why "master plans" often fail in rapidly growing cities, how utility bills can serve as property titles in Indonesia, and why high housing costs—not just individual factors—are the primary driver of homelessness.Key Topics:Why housing regulation is more economically damaging than trade tariffs.The concept of "Premature Imitation" in developing cities.Hernando de Soto, property rights, and unlocking "dead capital."Case studies from Brazil, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and upstate New York.

Timestamps:

(00:00) – Introduction: Welcome Salim Furth.(01:05) – From Macro to Micro: Why Salim pivoted to housing affordability.(02:30) – The Sugar Tariff Analogy: Why housing regulation hits wallets hardest.

(05:36) – Trumansburg vs. Lagos: How different regions handle unrealistic zoning.

(10:00) – The hidden costs of informal housing and lack of title.

(14:40) – "Premature Imitation": Why Western master plans fail in emerging markets.

(17:15) – The Porto Alegre Model: Moving from planning to "constant monitoring."

(21:15) – The Anglosphere Paradox: Why wealthy English-speaking nations have the highest prices.

(25:00) – Housing challenges in India: Colonial laws and caste discrimination.

(28:40) – Hernando de Soto and the importance of unlocking capital.

(30:40) – The Indonesian Kampung Solution: Using utility bills as property rights.

(37:00) – Homelessness: Distinguishing between individual risk factors and systemic housing costs.

(41:20) – "Doubling Up": How private social safety nets prevent homelessness.

(47:35) – Emerging Market Spotlight: Ethiopia’s urban expansion grid strategy.