ESRI researchers win Miriam Hederman O’Brien Prize from Foundation for Fiscal Studies

ESRI researchers, Prof Conor O'Toole and Dr Janez Kren, together with co-authors Tom Gillespie and Ronan Lyons, have been awarded the annual Miriam Hederman O’Brien Prize for their paper, The supply side effects of rent controls: Evidence from Ireland.

The paper uses the introduction of rent stabilisation measures in Ireland after 2016, and their tightening in 2021, to understand the impact of these policies on the supply of rental housing and whether the policies caused properties to exit the sector. 

Across all specifications, the paper found evidence of exit from the rental market, specifically after rent controls were tightened in 2021: rent controls are associated with more sale listings and fewer rental listings/registrations. The negative impact of rent controls on room rental listings was, likewise, consistent with market exit rather than simply reduced mobility.

Read more key findings.

The annual Miriam Hederman O’Brien Prize recognises outstanding contributors in the area of Irish fiscal, economic and social policy.