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City size and skill intensity

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  • Elvery, Joel A.

Abstract

Many have theorized that the productivity of human capital increases with city size. If this were true, one would expect production in large cities to be more skill intensive than in small cities, even within industry. This paper uses data on the occupational mix at establishments to test whether skill intensity is greater in large cities. Establishments in metropolitan areas with population above two million use a more skill intensive mix of workers than comparable establishments in metropolitan areas with population below one million. The differences in skill intensity are not the same in all industries; establishments in relatively skill intensive industries are even more skill intensive in large MSAs. These results support theories that suggest that the productivity gains from agglomeration are larger for skilled labor than unskilled labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Elvery, Joel A., 2010. "City size and skill intensity," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 367-379, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:40:y:2010:i:6:p:367-379
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    Cited by:

    1. Suzanne Kok & Bas ter Weel, 2014. "Cities, Tasks, And Skills," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(5), pages 856-892, November.
    2. Winters, John V., 2011. "Human capital, higher education institutions, and quality of life," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 446-454, September.
    3. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    4. Suzanne Kok & Bas ter Weel, 2014. "Cities, Tasks and Skills," CPB Discussion Paper 269.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    5. Haixiao Wu, 2018. "Is There a Kuznets Curve for Intra-City Earnings Inequality?," Working Papers 2018-09, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    6. Peter Berck & Sofia Tano & Olle Westerlund, 2016. "Regional Sorting of Human Capital: The Choice of Location among Young Adults in Sweden," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(5), pages 757-770, May.
    7. Anthony M. Yezer & Daniel A. Broxterman, 2014. "Why Does Skill Intensity Vary Across Cities? Housing Cost and True Human Capital," Working Papers 2014-15, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    8. Taelim Choi, 2020. "Agglomeration Effect of Skill-Based Local Labor Pooling: Evidence of South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, April.
    9. Hu, Wei & Fan, Yuemin, 2020. "City size and energy conservation: Do large cities in China consume more energy?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    10. John V. Winters, 2011. "Human Capital and Population Growth in Nonmetropolitan U.S. Counties," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 25(4), pages 353-365, November.
    11. Broxterman, Daniel A. & Yezer, Anthony M., 2015. "Why does skill intensity vary across cities? The role of housing cost," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 14-27.
    12. Ana Maria Bonomi Barufi & Eduardo Amaral Haddad & Peter Nijkamp, 2016. "Should I Stay or Should I Go? Selection on Migration and Learning in Cities in Brazil," TD NEREUS 1-2016, Núcleo de Economia Regional e Urbana da Universidade de São Paulo (NEREUS).
    13. Eloiza Almeida & Veneziano Araújo & Solange Gonçalves, 2025. "The urban wage premium in a labor market with informality," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 74(2), pages 1-28, June.
    14. Vincent Boitier, 2013. "Endogenous city size in urban search models: the case of high reallocation costs," ERSA conference papers ersa13p590, European Regional Science Association.
    15. Dusan Paredes & Marcelo Lufin & Patricio Aroca, 2012. "The Estimation of Urban Premium Wage Using Propensity Score Analysis: Some Considerations from the Spatial Perspective," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Esteban Fernández Vázquez & Fernando Rubiera Morollón (ed.), Defining the Spatial Scale in Modern Regional Analysis, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 215-236, Springer.
    16. Aurélie LALANNE & Guillaume POUYANNE, 2012. "Ten years of metropolization in economics: a bibliometric approach (In French)," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2012-11, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    17. Marigee Bacolod & Bernardo S. Blum & William C. Strange, 2010. "Elements Of Skill: Traits, Intelligences, Education, And Agglomeration," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 245-280, February.
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    19. William C. Strange, 2009. "Viewpoint: Agglomeration research in the age of disaggregation," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 42(1), pages 1-27, February.
    20. Wioletta Wierzbicka, 2021. "Differentiation in levels of human capital among small cities in Warminsko-Mazurskie Voivodship," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 9(2), pages 209-222, December.
    21. Fran Stewart & Minkyu Yeom & Alice Stewart, 2020. "STEM and Soft Occupational Competencies: Analyzing the Value of Strategic Regional Human Capital," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 34(4), pages 356-371, November.
    22. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    23. Winters, John V, 2010. "Human Capital and Population Growth in Non-Metropolitan U.S. Counties: The Importance of College Student Migration," MPRA Paper 25592, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Suzanne Kok & Bas ter Weel, 2014. "Cities, Tasks and Skills," CPB Discussion Paper 269, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.

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