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Demand substitution across US cities: Observable similarity and home price correlation

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  • McDuff, DeForest

Abstract

This paper studies demand substitution in the context of US cities. Demand substitution occurs when individuals on the margin between certain city pairs affect demand patterns in the aggregate, causing certain cities to be better substitutes than others. Using a discrete model of city choice, I derive two predictions for migration flows and test them empirically using city-to-city migration data from the US Census. I show that cities which are similar on a variety of observable measures have higher levels of gross migration flows in the steady state and higher net migration flows in response to labor demand shocks. Finally, I propose pairwise correlation in metropolitan home prices as a price-based measure of substitutability and show that it contains substantial predictive power for migration flows relative to observable similarity.

Suggested Citation

  • McDuff, DeForest, 2011. "Demand substitution across US cities: Observable similarity and home price correlation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:70:y:2011:i:1:p:1-14
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    6. David Albouy & Bert Lue, 2014. "Driving to Opportunity: Local Rents, Wages, Commuting Costs and Sub-Metropolitan Quality of Life," NBER Working Papers 19922, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    8. Huang, MeiChi, 2018. "Time-varying diversification strategies: The roles of state-level housing assets in optimal portfolios," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 145-172.
    9. MeiChi Huang, 2019. "Risk diversification gains from metropolitan housing assets," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(4), pages 453-481, October.
    10. MeiChi Huang, 2020. "A threshold unobserved components model of housing bubbles: timings and effectiveness of monetary policies," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 887-908, August.
    11. Jens Wrona, 2018. "Border Effects Without Borders: What Divides Japan's Internal Trade?," CESifo Working Paper Series 7056, CESifo.

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