Is there a "skyscraper curse?" The Economist asks Rutgers' Bruce Mizrach, Jason Barr, and Kusum Mundra . . .
The Economist (March 29, 2015) reported on a paper, "Skyscraper Height and the Business Cycle: Separating Myth from Reality," by Rutgers New Brunswick economist Bruce Mizrach and Rutgers Newark economists Jason Barr and Kusum Mundra, which was published this year by Applied Economics.
Mizrach and his co-authors debunk the so-called "Skyscraper Hypothesis" that competition for the tallest building marks business cycle tops. They show, using data from the U.S., China, Canada and Hong Kong, that GDP causes height. Because buildings naturally take several years to complete, the tallest building will always be finished as a downturn approaches.
Read the paper at https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/applec/v47y2015i2p148-160.html
