NIMBYism is not unique, but the importance of house prices to the UK economy is more severe than other countries.

- The UK has a very strong household wealth affect (consumption is tied to house price growth / decline). The US and UK borrowers borrow at a rate against household wealth not seen in other nations (look at the chart on page 6 - https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecbwp1117.pdf)

- It has had dramatic, sustained house price growth (400% real price growth since 1980) vs US (200%), France (200%), Germany (150%), Spain (Collapsed in 2008), Italy (Stagnant since 2008)

Some Links:

- https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/working-pa...

- https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2016/12/31/Uni...

It's been said about the New Zealand economy that it mainly consists of five people trading houses with each other for ever bigger numbers.