a column by Fabian Eckert, Sharat Ganapati and Conor Walsh for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
In recent years, wages for highly skilled workers have grown rapidly.
Using US data between 1980 and 2015, this column studies a group of service industries that are skill-intensive, widely traded, and have recently seen explosive wage growth. It shows that, unlike any other sector, the wage growth in these industries was strongly biased toward the densest local labour markets and the highest-paying firms.
These developments alone explain 30% of the increase in inequality between the 50th and 90th percentiles of the wage distribution.
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Showing posts with label cities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cities. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 October 2019
Friday, 16 August 2019
Public transit infrastructure and urban social connectedness
a column by Theresa Kuchler and Johannes Stroebel for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
The mixing of people and ideas in cities is at the heart of the ‘agglomeration externalities’ that drive the high productivity of cities. While public transit infrastructure is thought to help different people living in different parts of the same city to interact with one another, the lack of large-scale data has made it difficult to study.
This column explores the link between public transit and social connectedness in New York City. It finds the first suggestive evidence that New York City’s public transit system plays an important role in enabling social ties to be formed and maintained across geographic distances.
Continue reading
The mixing of people and ideas in cities is at the heart of the ‘agglomeration externalities’ that drive the high productivity of cities. While public transit infrastructure is thought to help different people living in different parts of the same city to interact with one another, the lack of large-scale data has made it difficult to study.
This column explores the link between public transit and social connectedness in New York City. It finds the first suggestive evidence that New York City’s public transit system plays an important role in enabling social ties to be formed and maintained across geographic distances.
Continue reading
Monday, 29 July 2019
When Did Nature Become Moral?
an article by Hillary Angelo in Public Books via 3 Quarks Daily with thanks to S. Abbas Raza
When did nature become a good for cities? When did city dwellers start imagining nature to be something they were missing? Today, urbanites’ moral associations with nature are so obvious and widely shared that a recent New Yorker cartoon of a couple at the dinner table was captioned: “Is this from the community garden? It tastes sanctimonious.” For better or worse, most of us are so steeped in this view of nature that it is hard to imagine how it could be otherwise. But it once was.
Many believe that nature became an ethical force in city life—a process Justin Farrell calls the “moralization of nature” for urban inhabitants—on account of 19th-century industrial cities. The lack of access to clean air, water, sunshine, and green space in crowded, polluted urban environments—in contrast to a real nature “out there”—transformed nature from a material into a moral good. These unnatural cities, the argument goes, forced people to see nature as not just something good, but something good for you: spiritually, emotionally, even physically.
Continue reading
I found this extremely interesting. H
When did nature become a good for cities? When did city dwellers start imagining nature to be something they were missing? Today, urbanites’ moral associations with nature are so obvious and widely shared that a recent New Yorker cartoon of a couple at the dinner table was captioned: “Is this from the community garden? It tastes sanctimonious.” For better or worse, most of us are so steeped in this view of nature that it is hard to imagine how it could be otherwise. But it once was.
Many believe that nature became an ethical force in city life—a process Justin Farrell calls the “moralization of nature” for urban inhabitants—on account of 19th-century industrial cities. The lack of access to clean air, water, sunshine, and green space in crowded, polluted urban environments—in contrast to a real nature “out there”—transformed nature from a material into a moral good. These unnatural cities, the argument goes, forced people to see nature as not just something good, but something good for you: spiritually, emotionally, even physically.
Continue reading
I found this extremely interesting. H
Friday, 7 June 2019
Household location in English cities
a column by David Cuberes, Jennifer Roberts and Cristina Sechel for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Richer households have typically chosen to live in the suburbs of big cities because of the lower prices and larger properties.
This column reports evidence from England that multiple factors now influence household location, including such urban amenities as parks, monuments, restaurants, and public transport. Analysis of the eight largest cities outside London finds no systematic relationship between income and household distance to the city centre. Indeed, household heterogeneity is an important determinant of location: for example, on average households with heads who are migrants live 25% closer to the centre than non-migrants; and only households who are employed are influenced by the availability of public transport.
Continue reading
Richer households have typically chosen to live in the suburbs of big cities because of the lower prices and larger properties.
This column reports evidence from England that multiple factors now influence household location, including such urban amenities as parks, monuments, restaurants, and public transport. Analysis of the eight largest cities outside London finds no systematic relationship between income and household distance to the city centre. Indeed, household heterogeneity is an important determinant of location: for example, on average households with heads who are migrants live 25% closer to the centre than non-migrants; and only households who are employed are influenced by the availability of public transport.
Continue reading
Friday, 10 May 2019
Pandemics, places, and populations: Evidence from the Black Death
a column by Rémi Jedwab, Noel Johnson and Mark Koyama for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
The Black Death killed 40% of Europe’s population between 1347 and 1352, but little is known about its spatial effects.
The column uses variation in Plague mortality at the city level to explore the short-run and long-run impacts on city growth. After less than 200 years the impact of Black Death mortality in cities was close to zero, but the rate of urban recovery depended on advantages that favoured trade.
Continue reading not simply for the economic information but for the social history.
The Black Death killed 40% of Europe’s population between 1347 and 1352, but little is known about its spatial effects.
The column uses variation in Plague mortality at the city level to explore the short-run and long-run impacts on city growth. After less than 200 years the impact of Black Death mortality in cities was close to zero, but the rate of urban recovery depended on advantages that favoured trade.
Continue reading not simply for the economic information but for the social history.
Thursday, 21 March 2019
The making of the modern metropolis: evidence from London
a paper by Stephan Heblich, Stephen J. Redding and Daniel M. Sturm published in CentrePiece Volume 24 Issue 1 (Spring 2019)
Paper No CEPCP548:
Over the last two centuries, transport innovations have drastically changed urban landscapes. Stephan Heblich, Stephen Redding and Daniel Sturm examine how the introduction of steam railways shaped the emerging metropolitan area of London.
Much of the aggregate growth of Greater London can be explained by the new transport technology of the railway
Full text (PDF 4pp) with some amazing illustrations and access to a much longer paper by these authors.
Paper No CEPCP548:
Over the last two centuries, transport innovations have drastically changed urban landscapes. Stephan Heblich, Stephen Redding and Daniel Sturm examine how the introduction of steam railways shaped the emerging metropolitan area of London.
Much of the aggregate growth of Greater London can be explained by the new transport technology of the railway
Full text (PDF 4pp) with some amazing illustrations and access to a much longer paper by these authors.
Tuesday, 5 February 2019
Inclusive growth in English cities: mainstreamed or sidelined?
an article by Paul Sissons and Kevin Broughton (Coventry University, UK) and Anne E. Green (University of Birmingham, UK) published in Regional Studies
Volume 53 Issue 3 (2019)
Abstract
The concept of inclusive growth is increasingly presented as offering prospects for more equitable social outcomes.
However, inclusive growth is subject to a variety of interpretations and lacks definitional clarity. In England, via devolution, cities are taking on new powers for policy domains that can influence inclusive growth outcomes.
This opens up opportunities for innovation to address central issues of low pay and poverty.
This paper examines the extent to which inclusive growth concerns form a central or peripheral aspect in this new devolution through the content analysis of devolution agreements. It concludes that inclusive growth concerns appear to be largely sidelined.
JEL classification: I30, J48, O25, R58
Volume 53 Issue 3 (2019)
Abstract
The concept of inclusive growth is increasingly presented as offering prospects for more equitable social outcomes.
However, inclusive growth is subject to a variety of interpretations and lacks definitional clarity. In England, via devolution, cities are taking on new powers for policy domains that can influence inclusive growth outcomes.
This opens up opportunities for innovation to address central issues of low pay and poverty.
This paper examines the extent to which inclusive growth concerns form a central or peripheral aspect in this new devolution through the content analysis of devolution agreements. It concludes that inclusive growth concerns appear to be largely sidelined.
JEL classification: I30, J48, O25, R58
Wednesday, 28 February 2018
Urban concentration and economic growth
a column by Susanne Frick and Andrés Rodríguez-Pose for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Urban concentration is typically deemed to lead to greater national economic growth. This column challenges this view, using an original dataset covering 68 countries over the past three decades.
Urban concentration levels have decreased or remained stable on average, though these averages hide widely diverging trends across countries. Although concentration has been beneficial for high-income countries, this hasn’t been the case for for developing countries.
Continue reading
Urban concentration is typically deemed to lead to greater national economic growth. This column challenges this view, using an original dataset covering 68 countries over the past three decades.
Urban concentration levels have decreased or remained stable on average, though these averages hide widely diverging trends across countries. Although concentration has been beneficial for high-income countries, this hasn’t been the case for for developing countries.
Continue reading
Monday, 19 February 2018
The revenge of the places that don't matter
a column by Andrés Rodríguez-Pose for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Persistent poverty, economic decay and lack of opportunities cause discontent in declining regions, while policymakers reason that successful agglomeration economies drive economic dynamism, and that regeneration has failed. This column argues that this disconnect has led many of these ‘places that don’t matter’ to revolt in a wave of political populism with strong territorial, rather than social, foundations. Better territorial development policies are needed that tap potential and provide opportunities to those people living in the places that ‘don’t matter’.
Continue reading
Persistent poverty, economic decay and lack of opportunities cause discontent in declining regions, while policymakers reason that successful agglomeration economies drive economic dynamism, and that regeneration has failed. This column argues that this disconnect has led many of these ‘places that don’t matter’ to revolt in a wave of political populism with strong territorial, rather than social, foundations. Better territorial development policies are needed that tap potential and provide opportunities to those people living in the places that ‘don’t matter’.
Continue reading
Saturday, 10 February 2018
Creativity and freedom
a column by Michel Serafinelli and Guido Tabellini for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Innovation is often concentrated in certain geographic areas, or ‘creative clusters’. This column uses novel data on famous births to explore the dynamics of creativity in European cities between the 11th and 19th centuries. The results show that creativity tends to precede economic prosperity, and that city institutions that protect personal and economic freedoms are conducive to radical innovation in a variety of domains.
Continue reading
Innovation is often concentrated in certain geographic areas, or ‘creative clusters’. This column uses novel data on famous births to explore the dynamics of creativity in European cities between the 11th and 19th centuries. The results show that creativity tends to precede economic prosperity, and that city institutions that protect personal and economic freedoms are conducive to radical innovation in a variety of domains.
Continue reading
Sunday, 7 January 2018
When do climate change, sustainability, and economic development considerations overlap in cities?
an article by Scott E. Kalafatis (Michigan State University, USA; College of Menominee Nation, Keshena, USA) published in Environmental Politics Volume 27 Issue 1 (2018)
Abstract
Overlaps between economic development, sustainability and climate change objectives have both political and practical implications for the development of policies addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, little empirical research has systematically investigated factors underlying these overlaps.
Here, survey responses from 287 cities in the US are used to explore associations between the presence of such overlaps and these cities’ policy actions and contextual conditions.
Patterns in the presence of these overlaps are described, which help shed light on the political economy underlying policymakers’ considerations about overlapping climate change mitigation and adaptation considerations with economic development or sustainability.
Policymakers’ considerations about the possible political co-benefits and political trade-offs of these objective overlaps will play a critical role in shaping interconnected policy responses to complex challenges like climate change in the years ahead.
Abstract
Overlaps between economic development, sustainability and climate change objectives have both political and practical implications for the development of policies addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, little empirical research has systematically investigated factors underlying these overlaps.
Here, survey responses from 287 cities in the US are used to explore associations between the presence of such overlaps and these cities’ policy actions and contextual conditions.
Patterns in the presence of these overlaps are described, which help shed light on the political economy underlying policymakers’ considerations about overlapping climate change mitigation and adaptation considerations with economic development or sustainability.
Policymakers’ considerations about the possible political co-benefits and political trade-offs of these objective overlaps will play a critical role in shaping interconnected policy responses to complex challenges like climate change in the years ahead.
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Neither ‘Deepest, Darkest Peckham’ nor ‘Run-of-the-Mill’ East Dulwich: The Middle Classes and their ‘Others’ in an Inner-London Neighbourhood
an article by Emma Jackson (University of Glasgow, Scotland) and Michaela Benson (Goldsmiths, University of London) published in International Journal of Urban and Regional Research Volume 38 Issue 4 (July 2014)
Abstract
This article examines how middle-class residents of an inner-London neighbourhood draw up socio-spatial and symbolic boundaries between themselves and their ‘others’. Through a discussion of accounts of two very different boundaries – the boundary of a multi-ethnic high street and a less clearly defined boundary of a neighbouring middle-class area – we argue that the production of middle-class identities is bound up with processes of disaffiliation not only from proximate stigmatised areas, but also from more upmarket areas and the people who populate them.
Against this background it becomes clear that middle-class claims to belonging are made through (1) the asymmetric processes by which the middle classes create and maintain spatial boundaries between themselves and racialized/classed others, and (2) the subtle processes of distinction that go on within the middle classes.
Nevertheless, relationships to place remain ambivalent, and as neighbourhoods undergo change, physical boundaries separating one area from another refuse to stay put. We argue that the re-inscription of such boundaries in the accounts of middle-class respondents are attempts to create a stable identity on the shifting ground of the contemporary global city.
Abstract
This article examines how middle-class residents of an inner-London neighbourhood draw up socio-spatial and symbolic boundaries between themselves and their ‘others’. Through a discussion of accounts of two very different boundaries – the boundary of a multi-ethnic high street and a less clearly defined boundary of a neighbouring middle-class area – we argue that the production of middle-class identities is bound up with processes of disaffiliation not only from proximate stigmatised areas, but also from more upmarket areas and the people who populate them.
Against this background it becomes clear that middle-class claims to belonging are made through (1) the asymmetric processes by which the middle classes create and maintain spatial boundaries between themselves and racialized/classed others, and (2) the subtle processes of distinction that go on within the middle classes.
Nevertheless, relationships to place remain ambivalent, and as neighbourhoods undergo change, physical boundaries separating one area from another refuse to stay put. We argue that the re-inscription of such boundaries in the accounts of middle-class respondents are attempts to create a stable identity on the shifting ground of the contemporary global city.
Friday, 28 February 2014
Matching worker skills to job tasks in the Netherlands: sorting into cities for better careers
an article by Suzanne Kok (University of Groningen, Netherlands and CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, The Hague) published in IZA Journal of European Labor Studies Volume 3 Number 2 (2014)
Abstract
Matches between workers and jobs are better in thick labour markets than in thin ones. This paper measures match quality by the gap between worker skills and their job tasks in the Netherlands. The smaller the gap, the better the match between skills and tasks. The measured gaps are 14 percent of a standard deviation smaller in cities than in the Dutch countryside. The location of work explains the observed higher quality of matches, while the location of residence does not. Robustness analyses show that these results are not explained by more efficient learning in cities or the spatial distribution of industrial and service occupations. Higher matching quality is associated with higher wages and explains part of the urban wage premia.
JEL Codes: J24; J23; R12; R23
Full text: http://www.izajoels.com/content/3/1/2
Abstract
Matches between workers and jobs are better in thick labour markets than in thin ones. This paper measures match quality by the gap between worker skills and their job tasks in the Netherlands. The smaller the gap, the better the match between skills and tasks. The measured gaps are 14 percent of a standard deviation smaller in cities than in the Dutch countryside. The location of work explains the observed higher quality of matches, while the location of residence does not. Robustness analyses show that these results are not explained by more efficient learning in cities or the spatial distribution of industrial and service occupations. Higher matching quality is associated with higher wages and explains part of the urban wage premia.
JEL Codes: J24; J23; R12; R23
Full text: http://www.izajoels.com/content/3/1/2
Thursday, 18 April 2013
The Economic Performance of European Cities and City Regions: Myths and Realities
an article by Lewis Dijkstra (European Commission, Brussels, Belgium), Enrique Garcilazo (OECD, Paris, France) and Philip McCann (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) published in European Planning Studies Volume 21 Issue 3 (March 2013)
Abstract
The ever-increasing concentration of people and economic growth in the largest cities relative to the rest of the country has slowed down or even reversed in many of the developed European countries over the last decade.
This trend contradicts what the global cities, urban economics and new economic geography literature would predict.
This trend can be interpreted from two points of view:
Last but not least, negative externalities in the large cities, such as congestion costs, pollution, labour crowding and high cost of living, may increase the appeal of smaller centres and rural regions.
Abstract
The ever-increasing concentration of people and economic growth in the largest cities relative to the rest of the country has slowed down or even reversed in many of the developed European countries over the last decade.
This trend contradicts what the global cities, urban economics and new economic geography literature would predict.
This trend can be interpreted from two points of view:
- the trend is due to large obstacles to further large city urbanization and thus is inefficient or
- this trend highlights alternative pathways to growth than the mega-city approach and may be as, if not more, efficient.
Last but not least, negative externalities in the large cities, such as congestion costs, pollution, labour crowding and high cost of living, may increase the appeal of smaller centres and rural regions.
Friday, 21 December 2012
Cities and youth unemployment
via Centre for Cities by Naomi Clayton
The continued fall in youth unemployment is good news, as is the extension of the Youth Contract.
Yet the picture across the UK shows that the youth claimant rate remains high in many cities and young people continue to be stuck on benefits.
Top 5 cities with highest youth claimant rate: Hull (10.4%), Middlesbrough (10.1%), Barnsley (9.5%), Doncaster (9.4%), Birmingham (9.1%)
Top 5 cities with highest % of 16-24 year old claimants on JSA for 1 year or more: Hull (29.4%), Ipswich (27.8%), Dundee (25.8%), Middlesbrough (25.2%), Sunderland (24.2%)
Youth claimant rate and % of 16-24 year old claimants on JSA for 1 year or more by city, November 2012
Have a look at the infographic here – it really appeals to my visual sense! It’s both colour and size coded. The tiny orange spot that is Norwich indicates that the overall number of youth claimants is quite small as a percentage of all claimants but that the percentage long-term unemployed of those youth claimants is at the high end.
The continued fall in youth unemployment is good news, as is the extension of the Youth Contract.
Yet the picture across the UK shows that the youth claimant rate remains high in many cities and young people continue to be stuck on benefits.
Top 5 cities with highest youth claimant rate: Hull (10.4%), Middlesbrough (10.1%), Barnsley (9.5%), Doncaster (9.4%), Birmingham (9.1%)
Top 5 cities with highest % of 16-24 year old claimants on JSA for 1 year or more: Hull (29.4%), Ipswich (27.8%), Dundee (25.8%), Middlesbrough (25.2%), Sunderland (24.2%)
Youth claimant rate and % of 16-24 year old claimants on JSA for 1 year or more by city, November 2012
Have a look at the infographic here – it really appeals to my visual sense! It’s both colour and size coded. The tiny orange spot that is Norwich indicates that the overall number of youth claimants is quite small as a percentage of all claimants but that the percentage long-term unemployed of those youth claimants is at the high end.
Monday, 23 July 2012
What happened to the ‘City of a Thousand Trades?’ Birmingham from 1901 to today
via Centre for Cities by Naomi Clayton
Centre for Cities’ new report, Cities Outlook 1901, explores how cities are shaped by their past. It shows how cities and why cities have taken different paths over the course of the 20th century. The story of Birmingham provides some interesting lessons for current and future policy.
If you lived in Birmingham back in 1901, the chances are life would have been pretty good. It was the fourth largest city in the country at the time (behind London, Manchester and Liverpool) and a magnet for people looking for economic opportunity. The “City of a Thousand Trades” was a workshop full of small, highly skilled firms producing a huge range of products. As a result, levels of enterprise were high and unemployment was low. At this point 12 percent of employment in the city was in vehicle manufacture.
Then came the 1930s. The cheap Pound, availability of credit and rearmament led to the rapid expansion of manufacturing in the city – predominantly in the automotive industry. With organisational and technological change also came the expansion of unskilled and semi-skilled labour in the city.
While the city saw huge numbers of new jobs created over the first half of the 20th century (unlike other manufacturing centres), it also become increasingly specialised in the automotive industry. The high cost of wages and rent in the city, coupled with the impacts of the 1945 Distribution of Industry Act to redistribute jobs, made it increasingly difficult for new industry to locate in the city. By 1951, 72% of the manufacturing workforce were employed in the automotive industry.
The 1970s recession forced the collapse of the automotive industry. As a result, Birmingham, which had followed a very different path from other manufacturing centres in the decades following 1901, saw a striking transition from high employment and high wages to high unemployment and deprivation. The city has since seen modest jobs growth, driven primarily by the public sector.
The story of Birmingham is not a critique of the automotive sector. The West Midlands today is still home to valuable jobs and innovation in the industry. What is does tell us, however, is that over reliance on a single industry makes a city economy more vulnerable to changes in the wider global economy. It also highlights the potential adverse effects of policy.
Cities should constantly be considering how they can make the most of niche strengths but also how they can encourage greater industrial diversity. For many cities the focus will need to be on the fundamental drivers of growth: skills and infrastructure. Cities need to work with local providers to ensure education and training responds to the needs of the modern economy and target investment in infrastructure to ensure cities are both better connected and attractive to workers and businesses.
Cities Outlook 1901 by Naomi Clayton & Raj Mandair
Full text (PDF 60pp)
Methodological note (PDF 2pp)
Centre for Cities’ new report, Cities Outlook 1901, explores how cities are shaped by their past. It shows how cities and why cities have taken different paths over the course of the 20th century. The story of Birmingham provides some interesting lessons for current and future policy.
If you lived in Birmingham back in 1901, the chances are life would have been pretty good. It was the fourth largest city in the country at the time (behind London, Manchester and Liverpool) and a magnet for people looking for economic opportunity. The “City of a Thousand Trades” was a workshop full of small, highly skilled firms producing a huge range of products. As a result, levels of enterprise were high and unemployment was low. At this point 12 percent of employment in the city was in vehicle manufacture.
Then came the 1930s. The cheap Pound, availability of credit and rearmament led to the rapid expansion of manufacturing in the city – predominantly in the automotive industry. With organisational and technological change also came the expansion of unskilled and semi-skilled labour in the city.
While the city saw huge numbers of new jobs created over the first half of the 20th century (unlike other manufacturing centres), it also become increasingly specialised in the automotive industry. The high cost of wages and rent in the city, coupled with the impacts of the 1945 Distribution of Industry Act to redistribute jobs, made it increasingly difficult for new industry to locate in the city. By 1951, 72% of the manufacturing workforce were employed in the automotive industry.
The 1970s recession forced the collapse of the automotive industry. As a result, Birmingham, which had followed a very different path from other manufacturing centres in the decades following 1901, saw a striking transition from high employment and high wages to high unemployment and deprivation. The city has since seen modest jobs growth, driven primarily by the public sector.
The story of Birmingham is not a critique of the automotive sector. The West Midlands today is still home to valuable jobs and innovation in the industry. What is does tell us, however, is that over reliance on a single industry makes a city economy more vulnerable to changes in the wider global economy. It also highlights the potential adverse effects of policy.
Cities should constantly be considering how they can make the most of niche strengths but also how they can encourage greater industrial diversity. For many cities the focus will need to be on the fundamental drivers of growth: skills and infrastructure. Cities need to work with local providers to ensure education and training responds to the needs of the modern economy and target investment in infrastructure to ensure cities are both better connected and attractive to workers and businesses.
Cities Outlook 1901 by Naomi Clayton & Raj Mandair
Full text (PDF 60pp)
Methodological note (PDF 2pp)
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