RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Empirics on the Long-Run Effects of Building Energy Codes in the Housing Market JF Land Economics JO Land Econ FD University of Wisconsin Press SP 585 OP 607 DO 10.3368/le.93.4.585 VO 93 IS 4 A1 Makram El-Shagi A1 Claus Michelsen A1 Sebastian Rosenschon YR 2017 UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/93/4/585.abstract AB We study the effectiveness of building energy codes, taking a long-run perspective. The focus is on regulation’s impact on energy demand in both high- and low-quality residences, in other words, the diffusion and the entry of “green” buildings in the housing market. We develop a measure for regulation intensity and apply this to a panel-error-correction regression model for energy requirements of a large sample of German apartment houses built between 1950 and 2005. We show that regulation is effective in saving energy. In particular, regulation pushes investors in the low-quality housing market segment toward the technological frontier. Indirectly, it also affects the high-quality segment. (JEL Q41, R52)