Thrilled our paper was accepted at @reveconstudies.bsky.social! Fond of our indirect-inference estimate of density disamenity—learning from macro, matching reduced-form causal moments in structural models @bsoeberlin.bsky.social github.com/Ahlfeldt/DPs/blob/main/GA_NBS_JR_-_SkyscraperRevolution.pdf

Yesterday (today for some of us 😀), the @bsoeberlin.bsky.social QSE ended on a high. Thanks so much to all the speakers, long-term visitors, short-term guests, and the regulars at the seminars (and socials). What a fantastic community! sites.google.com/view/bqse/bq...

Thanks to #BritishEmbassyBerlin for an excellent conference to honour the #KensingtonTreaty One lesson from the regional policy panel: create spatially balanced agglomeration. Updated my slides on growth & spatial inequality based on what I learned github.com/Ahlfeldt/pre... @bsoeberlin.bsky.social

Yet another good use of our AHS microgeographic price and rent index by @tagesspiegel.de This time about the doughnut effect. interaktiv.tagesspiegel.de/lab/berliner... Underlying raw data available here: github.com/Ahlfeldt/AHS... @bsoeberlin.bsky.social

Wohnen im Speckgürtel – Analyse in Karten: Aus der Hauptstadt ins Eigenheim. Ist der Traum vom Umland vorbei?

Wer den Wohnungspreisen entkommen wollte, zog ins Umland. Jetzt holt ihn das Problem dort ein. Fast nirgendwo sind die Immobilienpreise flächendeckend so stark gestiegen wie im Berliner Speckgürtel.

interaktiv.tagesspiegel.de

Great dashboard implementation our methodology from @cep-lse.bsky.social @bsoeberlin.bsky.social research to illustrate microgeographic property prices and rents in Germany by @tagesspiegel.de. Try clicking on your postcode. 😀 interaktiv.tagesspiegel.de/lab/der-inte...

Our urban economics colleagues at @humboldtuni.bsky.social are amazingly productive. (And therefore, according to their latest research 👇🏼 we can expect our office rents to rise.) @heblich.bsky.social, @ahlfeldt.bsky.social

CRC Rationality & Competition@rationalitycrc.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Why we’ve been underestimating the economic engine of big cities: Our new analysis of office rents reveals that productivity gains are hidden in high property prices, meaning the true economic advantage of large cities is actually 33% to 50% higher than previously measured.

We have too little architectural quality—even though it pays. The reason is a coordination failure. 👉 Should policy step in? Our @econ-observatory.bsky.social coverage www.economicsobservatory.com/why-dont-we-... of our @bsoeberlin.bsky.social @cep-lse.bsky.social DP github.com/Ahlfeldt/DPs...

Why don’t we have nicer buildings? - Economics Observatory

The benefits of distinctive urban architecture extend far beyond the buildings themselves, but the costs are borne by the developers. This can lead to underinvestment in high-quality design – and it r...

economicsobservatory.com

@tagesspiegel.de with coverage of the AHSY index (w dashboard): interaktiv.tagesspiegel.de/lab/gewerbem... Here is our @bsoeberlin.bsky.social paper with the underlying methodology: github.com/Ahlfeldt/DPs... For those who cant get enough: our 1h live debate 😎: www.tagesspiegel.de/kneipe-weg-k...

We revised our Skyscraper Revolution paper github.com/Ahlfeldt/DPs... Added indirect inference to estimate the QoL effect of density by matching causal reduced-form estimates in the model => more realistic counterfactuals. Quick read @voxeu.org: cepr.org/voxeu/column... @bsoeberlin.bsky.social

Why is there less beautiful architecture than we'd like? Our research shows that because neighbours get the benefits for free while builders pay extra, the market systematically undersupplies the architecture we prefer, making a construction subsidy the most efficient fix.

Why Market Forces Alone Undersupply Distinctive Architecture

Ahlfeldt, Pietrostefani & Zhang: "The Economics of Architecture" CRC Discussion Paper No. 561

190researchblog.substack.com

🏙️ Do big cities boost productivity more than we think? A study shows the benefits of urban density are reflected not only in higher wages, but also in higher commercial rents. Ignoring rent effects may underestimate the true economic gains of large cities. berlinschoolofeconomics.de/about-us/new...

📺 On @rbb24.de, @ahlfeldt.bsky.social discussed the entry of low-price coffee chains. ☕ He argued market-wide price declines are unlikely, as cafés compete beyond price. Current pricing may not be sustainable, though part of productivity gains reaches consumers. 👉 www.rbb-online.de/abendschau/v...

Chinesische Kaffeekette startet mit Dumpingpreisen

Billig, schnell, per App: Mit "Cotti Coffee" startet eine chinesische Kaffeekette in Berlin. Der erste Standort an der Friedrichstraße setzt auf Niedrigpreise und hohe Frequenz. Die Branche fragt sich...

rbb-online.de

☕Kaffee für alle oder schicke Cafés für coole Kieze? 🤎 Wir diskutieren live zur prime time in der @rbb24.de Abendschau @humboldtuni.bsky.social @bsoeberlin.bsky.social Interview: box.hu-berlin.de/f/3b351d1660... Ganzer Ganzer Beitrag: www.rbb-online.de/abendschau/v...

"The price of productivity is not paid in wages alone. A large share is paid in rents." Our @bsoeberlin.bsky.social INSIGHTS piece summarizes why considering commercial rent capitalization is important to properly estimating agglomeration effects. berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insight/the-...

The Price of Productivity

by Gabriel Ahlfeldt (HU Berlin, LSE), Stephan Heblich (University of Toronto), Tobias Seidel (University of Duisburg-Essen), Fan Yin (HU Berlin)

berlinschoolofeconomics.de

The agglomeration elasticity may be larger than widely believed (if we account for capitalization in commercial floor space prices). And the first micro-geographic commercial rent index for Germany!!! 😎 @bsoeberlin.bsky.social DP: opus4.kobv.de/opus4-hsog/f... Data: github.com/Ahlfeldt/AHS...

🏙️ Is “good #architecture” just aesthetics – or real #economic value? 👥 A new #paper by @ahlfeldt.bsky.social, E. Pietrostefani, and A. Zhang shows how distinctive design can raise prices not only for one building, but also for its neighbourhood. 📑 berlinschoolofeconomics.de/about-us/new...

🏙️ The #Economics of #Architecture @ahlfeldt.bsky.social, Elisabetta Pietrostefani & Ailin Zhang bring architectural quality into urban & welfare economics, documenting spillovers, heterogeneous preferences & a coordination problem in design investment. 👇 berlinschoolofeconomics.de/insight/the-...

Good architecture is a posterchild public good: non-rival and non-excludable. Had great fun using the economics toolbox to study why developments look rather underwhelming and simulate what policies could lead to more beautiful cities. @bsoeberlin.bsky.social github.com/Ahlfeldt/DPs...

Assessed values are good for quantification of QSMs. List prices better for hedonic valuation using panel identification. Evidence and replication studies from the NL and NYC in our @cep-lse.bsky.social DP! cep.lse.ac.uk/_NEW/PUBLICA...

Ever wondered what housing value proxy for sales prices to use? Long story (in our @cesifo.org DP) short: Assessed values are good for quantification of QSMs. List prices better for hedonic valuation using panel identification. www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/pu... @hans-koster.bsky.social

How can traditional models fall short in measuring urban appeal? Our analysis reveals that neglecting mobility frictions causes an underestimation of the urban quality-of-life premium (QoL): increasing a region's population is associated with a significant increase in QoL. 190researchblog.subs...

So proud of her! 🍾

Andrea Herrera@aaherrerab.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Thrilled to be a co-recipient of the UEA Student Prize in Montréal! Thanks to @ahlfeldt.bsky.social, @christianhilber.bsky.social, G&E faculty, and the @urbaneconomics.bsky.social organisers. My JMP explores the impacts of London's Protected Vistas on heights, prices, and welfare (new draft soon!)

#WIFO Research Seminar with @ahlfeldt.bsky.social (@humboldtuni.bsky.social) – The Geography of Life: Evidence from Copenhagen This seminar will take place on 24 September 2025 at 12:40 pm. Register now: veranstaltungen@wifo.ac.at ▶️ Join us buff.ly/K1fQU4A

.@hertieschool.bsky.social & IfW Kiel are jointly 🚨 recruiting a Professor of International Economics🚨 (Associate/Full). 👉 apply.interfolio.com/169770 Great opportunity to join Berlin's thriving econ community. No kings here. Deadline: Sep 30, 2025 Please share widely! #EconSky

I am too young to get nostalgic (at least I pretend), but 10 years after the "Berlin Wall" paper and with 15 years newer data I realize two things: 1) The Berlin spatial structure did not change that much 2) how much more convenient it has gotten to collect land values 😀 @reddingecon.bsky.social

What a fabulous 2025 @bsoeberlin.bsky.social www.bqse.de seminar season it has been! Thanks to all the co-organizers, our manager @immanuelfeld.bsky.social , all speakers, guests, and locals! You have been a fantastic spatial community! sites.google.com/view/bqse/bq...

Last day of the @bsoeberlin.bsky.social course in Quantitative Spatial Economics. What a great cohort! If you spot any of these faces on the job market, don't hesitate! Thoroughly impressed by their coursework—the nerdy discussions during the lectures: priceless! 🫰 sites.google.com/view/bqse/bq... f

Preparing my Applied Econometrics course @humboldtuni.bsky.social using @gaborbekes.bsky.social great textbook gabors-data-analysis.com. Added a nerdy exercise to the application of Random Forrest to predicting Airbnb prices. OLS beats Random Forrest when predicting outside a spatial window!

A new measure reveals the benefits of living in urban areas @ahlfeldt.bsky.social Fabian Bald, Duncan Roth, Tobias Seidel In CentrePiece magazine Editor: @helen-ward1.bsky.social http://cep.lse.ac.uk...

The 2025 season of the @bsoeberlin.bsky.social QSE course is running. Here is how it is going: sites.google.com/view/bqse/bq.... And here is my latest toy for the current cohort and anyone else. Maybe the simplest way of computing travel time matrices, designed for noobs! github.com/Ahlfeldt/TTM...