We study how growth of cities determines the growth of nations. Using a spatial equilibrium
model and data on 220 US metropolitan areas from 1964 to 2009, we first estimate the …

We quantify the amount of spatial misallocation of labor across US cities and its aggregate
costs. Misallocation arises because high productivity cities like New York and the San …

The economic approach to cities relies on a spatial equilibrium for workers, employers and
builders. The worker's equilibrium implies that positive attributes in one location, like access …

Despite numerous technological advances, remoteness within the United States has been
increasingly associated with relatively slower economic growth. Using a spatial hedonic …

New information technologies and reductions in transportation costs have led pundits to
pronounce the" death of distance." These claims would suggest that distance is no longer a …

The greatest productive advantage of modern-day American cities is that they form large and
integrated metropolitan labor markets. We present new evidence on the importance of self …

Most economic activity occurs in cities. This creates a tension between local increasing
returns, implied by the existence of cities, and aggregate constant returns, implied by …

Between 1977 and 1997, US employment shifted dramatically in favor of industries that used
skilled labor intensively. During this same period, some cities withered while others …

Empirical research on cities starts with a spatial equilibrium condition: workers and firms are
assumed to be indifferent across space. This condition implies that research on cities is …

This paper asks whether worker utility levels—composed of wages, rents, and amenities—
are being equalized among American cities. Using microdata on US urban workers in 1980 …