Jason Sorens

Senior Research Fellow

Jason Sorens, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow at AIER. He is also Principal Investigator on the New Hampshire Zoning Atlas. Jason was formerly the director of the Center for Ethics in Society at Saint Anselm College. He has researched and written more than 20 peer‐reviewed journal articles, a book for McGill‐Queens University Press titled Secessionism, and a biennially revised book for the Cato Institute, Freedom in the 50 States (with William Ruger).

His research is focused on housing policy and land-use regulation, U.S. state politics, fiscal federalism, and movements for regional autonomy and independence around the world. He has taught at Yale, Dartmouth, and the University at Buffalo and twice won awards for best teaching in his department. He lives in Amherst, New Hampshire.

3/13/24

“Stabilization” Is Just Bad Old Rent Control

“Just about the worst way to ‘help’ renters is by punishing property owners for providing rental housing, which is just what rent caps do.” ~Jason Sorens
1/10/24

Inflation Hit Some States Harder

“States with better regulatory policies enjoy a lower cost of living and attract workers and investment. The most important regulatory policy is the freedom to build, that is, a lack of burdensome zoning regulations that make housing scarce and costly.” ~Jason Sorens
12/11/23

New Hampshire’s Lesson for America

“an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: Never give government tools it will be tempted to abuse in the first place.
11/26/23

Garbled Economics in the WSJ on Argentina Dollarization

“Dollarization may not be the first-best solution for Argentina, though it’s hard to imagine it will be worse than hyperinflation.” ~Jason Sorens
10/15/23

Abolish Parking Minimums. Yes, All of Them

“Zoning codes require parking based on rough estimates of demand for ‘free’ parking at the time of development, ignoring how subsequent economic changes could affect demand.” ~Jason Sorens
10/7/23

New Studies Show How Business Taxes Hurt Average Americans

“Congress’s new tax increases on business couldn’t come at a worse time: right when business is still recovering from the supply-chain shocks of the pandemic and wages fail to keep pace with inflation.” ~Jason Sorens
10/1/23

An Insider Untangles the Causes of the Financial Crisis in American Cities

“Balancing budgets without reassessing what municipal governments should or should not do, and the long-term benefits and costs of their activities is insufficient.” ~Jason Sorens & Robertas Bakula
8/25/23

Should We Abolish Zoning?

“Many people consider zoning part of the ‘property right’ they bought in their home. They really should set up covenants if they want that security.” ~ Jason Sorens
7/24/23

Zoned Out: How Housing Regulation Drives Young Americans Toward Socialism

“Left-of-center states and localities are experimenting with rent control and public housing, would-be solutions to the problem of rising rents that economists know are incredibly costly. Simply reforming zoning would be a better solution.” ~ Jason Sorens
6/9/23

Politics as Self-Interest: Housing Is the Exception That Proves the Rule

“The costs of NIMBYism hit renters, landowners, employers, and future generations hard. But of those groups, only landowners have the direct incentive to show up to support projects being built on their own land. ” ~ Jason Sorens

Jason Sorens

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