Uncertainty,growth controls,and the efficiency of development patterns

This article examines the regulation of real estate development patterns from the perspective of the suburban household. Employing concepts of efficiency developed in the financial economics literature, it argues that uncertainty about future growth impacts, coupled with transactions costs, contributes to the motivation to enact growth controls. The article concludes by suggesting that in an information-efficient environment an alternative pricing policy, rather than regulatory intervention, is a Pareto-preferred response.