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Is the division of labour limited by the extent of the market? Evidence from French cities

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  • Duranton, Gilles
  • Jayet, Hubert

Abstract

This paper provides supportive evidence to the notion that the division of labour is limited by the extent of the (local) market. We first propose a theoretical model. Its main prediction is that scarce specialists occupations are over-represented in large cities. Using census data for French cities, we find strong empirical support for this prediction.

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  • Duranton, Gilles & Jayet, Hubert, 2011. "Is the division of labour limited by the extent of the market? Evidence from French cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 56-71, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:69:y:2011:i:1:p:56-71
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    Cited by:

    1. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier.
    2. Michaels, Guy, 2007. "The division of labor, coordination, and the demand for information processing," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 3251, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Huasheng Song & Min Zhang & Ruqu Wang, 2016. "Amenities and spatial talent distribution: evidence from the Chinese IT industry," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 9(3), pages 517-533.
    4. Jakob Munch & Jan Skaksen, 2009. "Specialization, outsourcing and wages," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 145(1), pages 57-73, April.
    5. Joe Tharakan & Jean-Philippe Tropeano, 2009. "On The Impact Of Labor Market Matching On Regional Disparities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 57-80.
    6. Guy Michaels & Ferdinand Rauch & Stephen J. Redding, 2013. "Task Specialization in U.S. Cities from 1880-2000," CEP Discussion Papers dp1186, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Suzanne Kok & Bas ter Weel, 2014. "Cities, Tasks, And Skills," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(5), pages 856-892, November.
    8. Bryan Graham & Jonathan Temple, 2006. "Rich Nations, Poor Nations: How Much Can Multiple Equilibria Explain?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 5-41, March.
    9. Zhaobin Fan & Ruohan Zhang, 2017. "Financial Inclusion, Entry Barriers, and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, Open Access Journal, vol. 9(2), pages 1-21, February.
    10. Jan Eeckhout & Roberto Pinheiro & Kurt Schmidheiny, 2010. "Spatial Sorting: Why New York, Los Angeles and Detroit Attract the Greatest Minds as well as the Unskilled," CESifo Working Paper Series 3274, CESifo Group Munich.
    11. Bleakley, Hoyt & Lin, Jeffrey, 2012. "Thick-market effects and churning in the labor market: Evidence from US cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 87-103.
    12. Roberto Antonietti & Maria Rosaria Ferrante & Riccardo Leoncini, 2016. "Local market size, social capital and outsourcing: evidence from Emilia Romagna," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 243-260, June.
    13. Glaeser, Edward L. & Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Strange, William C., 2010. "Urban economics and entrepreneurship," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 1-14, January.
    14. repec:spr:scient:v:96:y:2013:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-013-0970-3 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Steven Poelhekke, 2006. "Do Amenities and Diversity Encourage City Growth? A Link Through Skilled Labor," Economics Working Papers ECO2006/10, European University Institute.
    16. Kok, Suzanne, 2014. "Town and city jobs: How your job is different in another location," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 58-67.
    17. Suzanne Kok, 2013. "Town and city jobs: Your job is different in another location," CPB Discussion Paper 246, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    18. Suzanne Kok, 2012. "The division of labour across German cities and the extent of the market," ERSA conference papers ersa12p617, European Regional Science Association.
    19. Pierre-Philippe Combes & Laurent Gobillon, 2014. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Working Papers halshs-01071761, HAL.
    20. Sukkoo Kim, 2006. "Division of Labor and the Rise of Cities: Evidence from U.S. Industrialization, 1850-1880," NBER Working Papers 12246, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Benjamin Dachis, 2015. "Tackling Traffic: The Economic Cost of Congestion in Metro Vancouver," e-briefs 206, C.D. Howe Institute.
    22. K. Bruce Newbold & W. Mark Brown, 2015. "The Urban–Rural Gap In University Attendance: Determinants Of University Participation Among Canadian Youth," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 585-608, September.
    23. Ben Dachis, 2013. "Cars, Congestion and Costs: A New Approach to Evaluating Government Infrastructure Investment," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 385, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Division of labour Specialisation Extent of the market;

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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