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London calling? Agglomeration economies in literature since 1700

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  • Mitchell, Sara

Abstract

This paper utilises a unique, purpose-built panel dataset on prominent authors in the UK and Ireland born 1700–1925 to estimate the productivity gains associated with agglomeration of an industry with few capital requirements and no apparent need to cluster geographically. I find the average author experiences productivity gains of 11.94% per annum when residing in London, the only major literary cluster – a gain not associated with living in any of the minor literary clusters. I find evidence of negative selection with respect to productivity, indicating the results are not driven by the self-selection of highly productive authors to London. I find heterogeneity of returns to living in London by birth cohort and Impact Index quartile (a measure of author quality) and that the cohorts who receive the greatest gains from locating in London are those for which there is the strongest evidence of negative selection with respect to productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Mitchell, Sara, 2019. "London calling? Agglomeration economies in literature since 1700," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 16-32.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:112:y:2019:i:c:p:16-32
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2019.05.002
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    Cited by:

    1. Borowiecki, Karol Jan & Dahl, Christian Møller, 2021. "What makes an artist? The evolution and clustering of creative activity in the US since 1850," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    2. Michel Serafinelli & Guido Tabellini, 2022. "Creativity over time and space," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 1-43, March.
    3. Enrico Moretti, 2019. "The Effect of High-Tech Clusters on the Productivity of Top Inventors," NBER Working Papers 26270, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Yunhui Zhao & Xinyue Wu & Jian Zhang, 2022. "Analysis of the Paths Affecting Corporate Green Innovation in Resource-Based Cities: A Fuzzy-Set QCA Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Andrej Srakar & Petja Grafenauer & Marilena Vecco, 2016. "Being Central and Productive? Evidence from Slovenian Visual Artists in the 19th and 20th Century," ACEI Working Paper Series AWP-09-2016, Association for Cultural Economics International, revised Sep 2016.
    6. Amir B. Ferreira Neto, 2021. "The diffusion of cultural district laws across US States," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 67(1), pages 189-210, August.
    7. Hanlon, W.Walker & Heblich, Stephan, 2022. "History and urban economics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    8. Barber, Luke & Jetter, Michael & Krieger, Tim, 2024. "Foreshadowing Mars: Religiosity and pre-Enlightenment conflict in Europe," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302355, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    9. Barber, Luke & Jetter, Michael & Krieger, Tim, 2023. "Foreshadowing Mars: Religiosity and Pre-enlightenment Warfare," IZA Discussion Papers 16586, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. John O’Hagan & Alan Walsh, 2017. "Historical Migration and Geographic Clustering of Prominent Western Philosophers," Homo Oeconomicus: Journal of Behavioral and Institutional Economics, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 11-32, April.
    11. Yinyin Wen & Min Zhao & Genli Tang & Xiaoxiao Zhou & Xingchen Hu & Li Sui, 2023. "How does financial agglomeration affect green development? Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta of China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 135-156, March.
    12. Lukas Kuld & Sara Mitchell & Christiane Hellmanzik, 2021. "Manhattan Transfer: Productivity effects of agglomeration in American authorship," Trinity Economics Papers tep0821, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    13. Huaxi Yuan & Longhui Zou & Xiangyong Luo & Yidai Feng, 2022. "How Does Manufacturing Agglomeration Affect Green Development? A Spatial and Nonlinear Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-23, August.
    14. Zhang, Wei & Liu, Xuemeng & Zhao, Shikuan & Tang, Tian, 2024. "Does green finance agglomeration improve carbon emission performance in China? A perspective of spatial spillover," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    15. Chun‐Yu Ho & Yue Sheng, 2022. "Productivity advantage of large cities for creative industries," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(6), pages 1289-1306, December.
    16. Karol Jan BOROWIECKI, 2019. "The Origins of Creativity: The Case of the Arts in the United States since 1850," Trinity Economics Papers tep0219, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    17. Gomtsyan, David, 2022. "Merchant networks in big cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    18. Luiz Carlos Santana Ribeiro & Thiago Henrique Carneiro Rios Lopes & Amir Borges Ferreira Neto & Fernanda Rodrigues Santos, 2020. "Cultural employment growth in Brazilian municipalities," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 44(4), pages 605-624, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Geographic concentration; Cities; Mobility; Productivity; Urban history; British literature;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • N90 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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