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The spatial concentration of high-skilled workers and city productivity: the case of Latin America

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  • Vargas, Miguel
  • Garrido, Nicolás

Abstract

The aim of this study is to cast light on the relationship between the spatial concentration of high-skilled workers and the productivity of cities in Latin America. The relationship is not clear at first sight. On the one hand, the segregation of high-skilled workers should create agglomeration economies and give rise to positive spillovers amongst the most advantaged, offsetting productivity losses that result from the existence of ghettos of low-skilled workers. On the other hand, it may well be that these spillovers are not enough to compensate for the loss of productivity in the worse-off groups, so that aggregate productivity is negatively affected. We analysed this segregation for a group of Latin America’s largest cities and found a negative and significant relationship between the productivity of cities and the segregation of high-skilled workers. However, we also found evidence of a quadratic relationship between segregation and productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Vargas, Miguel & Garrido, Nicolás, 2021. "The spatial concentration of high-skilled workers and city productivity: the case of Latin America," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecr:col070:47823
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    1. Acerenza, Santiago & Gandelman, Nestor & Misail, Daniel, 2025. "Neighborhood impacts on human capital accumulation of adolescents and young adults in Montevideo," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).

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