- Regulation & Property Rights
- Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
Austan Goolsbee joins Steven Davis to consider “The Strange and Awful Path of Productivity in the U.S. Construction Sector.” Strange because construction productivity has stagnated for decades. Awful because it makes homes less affordable for American families. They probe the issue, drawing on Austan’s recent research with Chicago Booth Professor Chad Syverson.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Austan Goolsbee is President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Previously, he was the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, joining the faculty in 1995, and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama a member of his cabinet from 2009 to 2011. Goolsbee holds a PhD in economics from MIT and a BA and MA in economics from Yale.
Steven Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Hoover Institution and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is a research associate of the NBER, IZA research fellow, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and a consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He co-founded the Economic Policy Uncertainty project, the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, the Survey of Business Uncertainty, and the Stock Market Jumps project. He also co-organizes the Asian Monetary Policy Forum, held annually in Singapore. Before joining Hoover, Davis was on the faculty at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, serving as both distinguished service professor and deputy dean of the faculty.
RELATED SOURCES
- “The Strange and Awful Path of Productivity in the U.S. Construction Sector” by Austan Goolsbee and Chad Syverson, 2023.
- “Why Has Construction Productivity Stagnated? The Role of Land-Use Regulation,” by Leonard D’Amico, Edward Glaeser, Josephy Gyourko, William R. Kerr and Giacomo A.M. Ponzetto, 2024.
- Austan Goolsbee, recent media interviews.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Each episode of Economics, Applied, a video podcast series, features senior fellow Steven Davis in conversation with leaders and researchers about economic developments and their ramifications. The goal is to bring evidence and economic reasoning to the table, drawing lessons for individuals, organizations, and society. The podcast also aims to showcase the value of individual initiative, markets, the rule of law, and sound policy in fostering prosperity and security.
For more information, visit hoover.org/podcasts/economics-applied.
