What is the effect of an increase in the overall level of human capital on the economy of a
city? Although much is known about the private return to education, much less is known …

Between 1980 and 2000, the population of metropolitan areas where less than 10 percent of
adults had college degrees in 1980, grew on aver age by 13 percent. Among metropolitan …

There is little doubt that technology has had the most profound effect on altering the tasks
that we humans do in our jobs. Economists have long speculated on how technical change …

To identify communication externalities in French cities, we exploit a unique survey
recording workplace communication of individual workers. Our hypothesis is that in larger …

The paper studies the optimal distribution of business and residential land in a circular city.
Once the optimum is characterized, we analyze the effect of changes in commuting costs …

There are several hypotheses why urban scale affects wages. Most focus on agglomeration
economies that increase labor demand, especially for high‐skilled workers (eg, dynamic …

We report results from a randomized evaluation of a merit scholarship program for
adolescent girls in Kenya. Girls who scored well on academic exams had their school fees …

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 …

State governments are increasingly dichotomizing support of public research universities,
selectively enhancing technology-based academic research initiatives while gradually …

Abstract [Excerpt] In order for policymakers to make informed decisions they must address
four questions beyond understanding the private investment decisions of individuals. First …