Remote Work, Real Estate Prices, and Cities: A Conversation with Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh | Economics, Applied | Steven Davis | Hoover Institution

Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh joins Steven Davis to explain how the remote work revolution affects urban property values, municipal tax revenues, and the outlook for cities. Stijn and Steve also consider how policymakers can respond to the challenges facing cities. In this regard, they discuss the conversion of vacant commercial buildings to new housing units, the need for regulatory reforms that lower construction costs, subsidies to real estate development, and the importance of safe, low-crime urban environments.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh is the Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh obtained his B.A. in Economics at Belgium’s Ghent University in 1998 and later earned three advanced degrees at Stanford University (M.Sc. in Financial Mathematics, M.A. in Economics, and Ph.D. in Economics). He is a former editor at The Review of Financial Studies and past president of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association. In 2015, Stijn received the Bérnácer Prize for research on how housing-market shocks affect the broader economy and the prices of financial assets.

Steven J. Davis is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). He is an economic adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, elected fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and 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 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 RESOURCES:

• Stijn’s website
• “The remote work revolution: Impact on real estate values and the urban environment: 2023 AREUEA Presidential Address”
• “Converting brown offices to green apartments”