A nice review of "Shut Out" at CATO

David Henderson, one of the frequent posters over at econlog, who I have always enjoyed following, has a very nice review of "Shut Out" at Cato.  It begins:

In his recent book Shut Out, Kevin Erdmann, a finance expert and visiting fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, has two main messages. The first, which is not controversial among economists, is that restrictions on residential construction in coastal California and the urban Northeast have constrained supply so much that housing in those areas is virtually unaffordable for people in the lower- and middle-income classes. His other message is more controversial: the financial crisis last decade was not due to a housing bubble but, rather, to bad policy decisions based on the idea that there had been a bubble. Whereas I was already convinced of his first point, I, like the majority of economists, was skeptical of his second. But because of all the data and reasoning he brings to the issue, I now find myself at least 90% convinced.

Please click on the link (pdf) for the rest.

I need to get that darn second book finished to address the other 10%.