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Human capital growth in a cross section of U.S. metropolitan areas

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  • Christopher H. Wheeler

Abstract

Growth of human capital, defined as the change in the fraction of a metropolitan area's labor force with a bachelor's degree, is typically viewed as generating a number of desirable outcomes, including economic growth. Yet, in spite of its importance, few empirical studies have explored why some economies accumulate more human capital than others. This paper attempts to do so using a sample of more than 200 metropolitan areas in the United States over the years 1980, 1990, and 2000. The results reveal two consistently significant correlates of human capital growth: population and the existing stock of college-educated labor. Given that population growth and human capital growth are both positively associated with education, these results suggest that the geographic distributions of population and human capital should have become more concentrated in recent decades. That is, larger, more-educated metropolitan areas should have exhibited the fastest rates of increase in both population and education and thus \\"pulled away\\" from smaller, less-educated metropolitan areas. The evidence largely supports this conclusion.

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  • Christopher H. Wheeler, 2006. "Human capital growth in a cross section of U.S. metropolitan areas," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 88(Mar), pages 113-132.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedlrv:y:2006:i:mar:p:113-132:n:v.88no.2
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    1. Christopher H. Wheeler, 2007. "Human capital externalities and adult mortality in the U.S," Working Papers 2007-045, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    2. Broxterman, Daniel A. & Yezer, Anthony M., 2020. "Measuring human capital divergence in a growing economy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    3. repec:rre:publsh:v:40:y:2010:i:2:p:197-226 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Paula Prenzel & Simona Iammarino, 2018. "Ageing labour: How does demographic change affect regional human capital?," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1832, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Aug 2018.
    5. Paula Prenzel & Simona Iammarino, 2021. "Labor Force Aging and the Composition of Regional Human Capital," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 97(2), pages 140-163, March.
    6. George W. Hammond & Eric C. Thompson, 2010. "Divergence and Mobility in College sag Attainment Across U.S. Labor Market Areas: 1970—2000," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 33(4), pages 397-420, October.
    7. Steven Poelhekke, 2006. "Do Amenities and Diversity Encourage City Growth? A Link Through Skilled Labor," Economics Working Papers ECO2006/10, European University Institute.
    8. Ishwarya Balasubramanian, 2014. "Local skill concentrations and district employment growth: A Spatial simultaneous equation approach for India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2014-033, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    9. Südekum, Jens, 2008. "Convergence of the skill composition across German regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 148-159, March.

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