If productivity is defined as capital going to where it can generate the most new additional capital, then both statements you made are identical. The rules distort reality so that some activities are productive in excess of their marginal utility instead of productive proportional to their marginal utility.<p>Housing rents in pretty much all markets are productive in excess of the real life utility from the housing that earns that rent due to the myriad restrictions that prevent supply from growing proportionally to demand.<p>Lawmakers should as a general rule try manage both supply and demand curves so that the intersection between the two moves towards the origin or stays relatively the same.