The discussion has in fact been had by Matthew Yglesias in his Monexbox column on Slate.com, and by Ryan Avent in his book The Gated City: http://www.amazon.com

The discussion has in fact been had by Matthew Yglesias in his Monexbox column on Slate.com, and by Ryan Avent in his book The Gated City: http://www.amazon.com/Gated-City-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B005KGATLO/ http://www.amazon.com/Gated-City-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B005... Basically, development restrictions in economically productive areas raise prices and drive out productive workers to less productive areas, improving standard of living for those who move but lowering overall wages and productivity for the country as a whole. It is an entirely political problem and the only reason it's such an issue in SF is the economic productivity there.